by
This seems ready-made for parody, served to satirists on a silver platter.
Pen strokes, letter shapes and other telltale clues on Aug. 6 write-in votes for mayoral candidate Mike Duggan will be examined under a magnifying glass or microscope by a handwriting expert hired by Wayne County's Board of Canvassers.
The forensic evidence specialist will look at how a sampling of voters dotted the "i" and looped the "g" letters in an effort to certify the result that declared Duggan and Benny Napoleon as the Nov. 5 election candidates.
Eric D. Lawrence of the Free Press has an update on Saturday's move to bring in a penmanship consultant:
The decision came as the board met at Cobo Center to consider more than 170 challenges filed so far in the latest recount of the primary. . . .
Despite the decision to hire a handwriting expert, several challengers criticized the 19 samples that would be reviewed as too small to be representative. Mayoral candidate Tom Barrow, who was one of the challengers, said that some of the write-in votes for Duggan appeared to be too similar.
Board Chair Carol Larkin, however, said the 19 ballots were just a sampling and could be increased. . . .
Barrow, who came in fifth in the mayor’s race, and others insisted that fraud had been committed. . .. “You have clear, compelling evidence of fraud,” Barrow said.
