SYRACUSE -- Those who claim their vote doesn't count obviously don't live in Syracuse.
With at least 23 absentee ballots still to be counted, the Nov. 8 contest between challenger Dan Schuler and Syracuse City Councilman Douglas Peterson for the final seat on the council is down to one vote.
The city council will conduct an official canvass of the Nov. 8 municipal election results at its meeting Tuesday to determine the winner.
The canvassing will take place at 7 p.m. at Syracuse City Hall, 1979 W. 1900 South. The public is invited to attend, Mayor Jamie Nagle said.
In the meantime, the two await their election fate.
"I don't spend any time thinking about it. At this point, I've done all I can. The votes are in, so we'll just wait and see what happens," Peterson said Thursday.
"However it turns out, I am happy to have served on the council and proud of all we accomplished," said Peterson, who is seeking a second four-year term.
Schuler, seeking his first term on the council, said, "It's a roll of the dice of where (the absentee ballots) come in at.
"The anticipation is part of the fun."
But what Schuler really hopes is gained from this experience is that it serves as an example to the public that, "at the local level, your vote does make a difference."
After Tuesday's unofficial election night results, Schuler held a four-vote lead over Peterson for the final open seat on the council. Schuler had received 978 votes to Peterson's 974 votes.
But Schuler's slim four-vote lead got thinner upon the Davis County Clerk/Auditor's Office certifying those provisional ballots cast in Syracuse on Tuesday.
"It is down to a one-vote difference," Nagle said.
Schuler has received 994 votes to Peterson's 993.
"Where we are right now, it shows you the importance of every vote," said Davis County Clerk/Auditor Steve Rawlings.
The county currently has 23 absentee ballots to be counted in the Syracuse race and may receive a few more absentee ballots by mail, particularly from overseas, between now and Tuesday, when the Syracuse vote is to be canvassed, Rawlings said.
Challengers Karianne Lisonbee and Craig A. Johnson, who finished first and second, respectively, with each capturing their first four-year term on the Syracuse council, hold an insurmountable lead.
Nagle said she is disappointed only 21 percent of the city's registered voters cast ballots in Tuesday's election.
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