Who will be the next mayor of Longueuil?
Dozens of election observers are working to answer that question at the Longueuil courthouse Tuesday after a judge ordered a judicial recount of the Nov. 5 election results.
So far, 10 ballots have been corrected.
READ MORE: Longueuil election results
The first time the 58,326 ballots were counted, Sylvie Parent beat Josée Latendresse for the mayoralty by 118 votes.
Now, after a ruling from Judge Luc Poirier, ten teams of election staff are recounting 200 of the 495 ballot boxes, piece by piece.
READ MORE: Live results across Greater Montreal
Latendresse, who demanded the recount, and members of her team sat in court to watch.
“I’m a bit nervous, but I’m staying positive,” Latendresse told Global News during a break.
Parent was not present Tuesday, but members of her team did show up to court to witness the recount.
READ MORE: Your guide to voting in Montreal’s 2017 municipal election
Latendresse’s lawyer argued to have the ballot boxes reexamined Monday.
He pointed to over 1,200 ballots that had been deemed invalid and not counted by election observers.
READ MORE: Understanding Montreal’s municipal elections
The judge cited a discrepancy in how many people voted in the mayoral and city councillor races as one of the reasons he ordered the recount.
Poirier said he did not want to reopen all 495 polls, as it would take too long and delay other court proceedings.
Lawyers believe the recount could take several days.