The School District of Elmbrook’s Board of Canvassers met on Wednesday, April 19, and confirmed the election results for the Area III Seat following a manual vote recount, declaring Preetha Kurudiyara as the election winner for the Board Member Seat. Newly elected board members Kurudiyara, Sam Hughes, and Scott Wheeler will take their Oath of Office on Monday, April 24, 2023, thus beginning their 3-year terms.

Wisconsin Elections Commission Recount Manual for reference: https://elections.wi.gov/resources/manuals/recount-manual

The Board of Canvassers (BOC) includes and is formed by the Board Clerk, Linda Boucher, who appointed two qualified electors Kathy Lim and Christine VanderBloemen. The aggrieved candidate in the Area III Seat Spring election, Gregg Eberhardt, requested a recount by filing a sworn petition with the filing officer, Board Clerk Linda Boucher, on April 12, 2023. In response to the petition, the BOC called for an emergency meeting on April 13, 2023 to prepare for the recount, and determined they would conduct a manual recount rather than tabulating votes by machine. The BOC recruited tabulators to count the ballots and the recount began at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, April 14, 2023, and continued on Saturday, April 15th, and Monday, April 17th, before finishing on Tuesday, April 18th. A recording of the recount is available on the District YouTube channel. 

The approximate cost to the School District of Elmbrook for the recount exceeded 10,000 dollars per day, which includes compensation for poll workers, tabulators, canvassers, security, legal counsel, support staff, and others. Per the Wisconsin Elections Commission Recount Manual, no fee was required from the aggrieved candidate, Gregg Eberhardt, because more than 4,000 votes were cast and the margin of vote difference was less than 0.25%.  As of today, the total costs for the Area III recount were over 40,000 dollars.

The School District would like to recognize and thank the Waukesha County Clerk, County Office Staff, and the Municipal Clerks and staff from the City of Brookfield, Village of Elm Grove, and Town of Brookfield for assisting in the canvassing and recount process, as well as the canvassers, tabulators, and observers for their committed and diligent service. The District also recognizes the support efforts of its Human Resources team, Technology and Communications teams, and support staff who helped make the recount process run smoothly. 

Background: The unofficial, Spring Election results were reported ​on Waukesha County's Website. The official results of the election are not determined until the official board of canvassers for the school district has met and completed the official canvassing of their respective offices. The complete and official election results for three Elmbrook Board of Education seats from the April 4, 2023 Spring Election were certified by the Board of Canvassers at their meeting on April 10, 2023 as follows:

Area I Seat
Scott Wheeler - 12,404

Area III Seat
Preetha Kurudiyara - 9,847
Gregg Eberhardt - 9,800

At-Large Seat
Sam Hughes - 9,804
David Irwin - 9,682

The Area III Seat Recount was certified by the Board of Canvassers at their meeting on April 19, 2023 as follows:

Area III Seat
Preetha Kurudiyara - 9,851
Gregg Eberhardt - 9,795