Ginapp winner for now in Cerro Gordo supervisors race, recount to be held next week

MASON CITY — The Cerro Gordo County Board of Supervisors Wednesday afternoon held the canvass and approved the results of the 2024 general election and later today will approve a recount in one of the supervisors races.

That comes a day after a special board met to review a total of 41 provisional and late-arriving absentee ballots. That board decided to accept 29 of those 41 ballots. That resulted in the winner of one race for the time being changing between election night and now.

The updated results have Republican challenger Carl Ginapp leading incumbent Democrat Lori Meacham Ginapp by two votes in the Board of Supervisors District 3 election after Meacham Ginapp had a two-vote lead with ballots counted on election night. 

Meacham Ginapp has filed for a recount to take place and the Cerro Gordo County Board of Supervisors in a special session later this afternoon will approve starting the recount process. A three-member panel will oversee the recount process which will likely start on Monday. There are three options on how to recount the ballots — by hand, by machine, or by using both hand and machine recounts.

There was a recount in this same election two years ago when Meacham Ginapp held a three-vote lead on election night over Don O’Connor, and after a recount was done, Meacham Ginapp gained a vote while O’Connor lost a vote.