Colten v. City of Haverhill

This case involves a dispute between Marjorie Goudreault and Stanley Colten, who finished ninth and tenth *269in the November, 1989, election for nine places on the city council in Haverhill. After a recount, only four votes separated Goudreault and Colten. (Goudreault had 5,197 and Colten had 5,193.) Colten filed a complaint in the Superior Court, challenging the count. The judge who heard the case rejected some of the disputed ballots but found that Goudreault had won by one vote. Colten has appealed, challenging both the absentee ballots and a number of other contested ballots. We conclude…