St. Louis City Sheriff requests recount in primary election results

ST. LOUIS – Vernon Betts, the active St. Louis City Sheriff, has requested a recount of primary election results that show he narrowly lost to challenger Alfred Montgomery.

The St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners published official election results from the Aug. 6, 2024 primary election on Monday.

According to those results, Betts received 22,604 votes and Montgomery received 22,860 votes. It’s a difference of less than 300 votes. In percentages, Montgomery has a 0.56% edge over Betts.

Betts filed a petition with the St. Louis Circuit Court on Thursday, just three days after the city’s primary election became official, claiming that Missouri’s state laws entitle him to a recount based on the reported results.

The petition cites Missouri Statute 115.601 , which states “Any contestant in a primary or other election contest who was defeated by less than one percent of the votes cast for the office … shall have the right to a recount of the votes cast for the office or on the question.”

Missouri court records indicate that a copy of the petition has been delivered to the Board of Election Commissioners and that Betts has requested a preliminary hearing.

Betts has held the office of St. Louis City Sheriff on the Democratic ticket since since January 1, 2017. In the August 2020 primary , Betts defeated Montgomery with 61% to 27% advantage in election results.

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