A recount will be held Friday morning for last week's Itta Bena mayoral election, which was decided by only 10 votes.
J.D. Brasel defeated incumbent Thelma Collins, 278 votes to 268, in the June 5 election. Collins requested the recount, and Brasel said Tuesday that he had received a letter inviting him to attend.
In the unofficial results given the night of the election, Collins was shown to have won, 355-170. However, it was discovered that the votes from Ward 4 had been assigned to the wrong candidates in the alderman's and mayor's races.
A bailiff had read some of the vote totals incorrectly, said Juvernia Robinson, chairman of the election commission.
When the error was corrected Friday, Brasel had the majority of the votes.
The outcome of the Ward 4 alderman's race also was reversed. Willie Dean, originally reported as the winner, had fewer votes than Donald Fulgham in Friday's final count.
In addition to correcting the errors, the final numbers reflect the addition of absentee and curbside ballots.
Collins said she will accept the outcome, whatever it is, but just wanted to make sure the affidavit ballots, absentee ballots and other votes were recorded properly.
She said she didn't know what would happen if Friday's count produced new results, since the certified numbers already have been sent to the Secretary of State's office.
