AUBURN – In the end, they could only find one vague Ward 3 ballot among 1,700.

“And one ballot isn’t going to do either one of us any good,” said challenger Dan Herrick to Ward 3 City Councilor Eric Samson.

And with that, Herrick conceded defeat and shook Samson’s hand. The final tally: 804 votes for Herrick, 824 for Samson.

Samson, mayor-elect John Jenkins and the six other city councilors elected Nov. 7 are set to be sworn in at a Dec. 4 inauguration ceremony.

Wednesday’s ballot inspection was the last official piece of business before City Clerk Mary Lou Magno could close the books on the 2006 election.

According to the city’s official results, Samson beat Herrick by a slim 19 votes, 824 to 805. Herrick said he owed it to his supporters to inspect the ballots. That’s the first step toward a full recount.

The city uses a five-year-old Accu-Vote system. Voters are required to fill in oval bubbles next to candidates’ names. A machine reads the votes and tallies the results.

Herrick brought two friends to help with the effort, Hatch Road neighbors Ed Desgrosseilliers and Gabriel Couture. The three sorted the stack of ballots into four piles – votes for Samson, voters for Herrick, ballots that left the Ward 3 race blank and ballots where the vote was unclear.

Samson, who came to Auburn Hall alone Wednesday, said he trusted Herrick’s judgment and didn’t need to see the ballots unless there was a surprise. There wasn’t.

The three quickly sorted the ballots into two large stacks and a small one, with one ballot left over. That ballot contained a clear mark by Samson’s name, but a second line next to Herrick’s.

They counted 804 ballots for Herrick, one fewer than the official results. That was enough to convince Herrick and his team.

“I guess we’ll keep the machines, after all,” Desgrosseilliers said. “They really do seem to work.”