EASTHAMPTON — A recount of the city’s $6.9 million Proposition 2½ override vote Thursday did not change the results of last month’s special election, but showed the winning margin narrowing from 239 votes to 234.

The override was the only question on the ballot. Unofficial results from the June 9 special election showed it passed 3,312-3,073 for a total of 6,385 ballots cast. The recount changed the totals to 3,313 votes in favor to 3,079 against. A total of 6,392 ballots were counted in the recount, including two blank ballots and five cast under the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.

Before the recount, Mayor Salem Derby said he had no concerns the outcome would change, noting that Massachusetts recounts historically shift vote totals by only a few ballots. That proved to be the case Thursday. Derby could not be reached for comment immediately after the recount.

The recount took about five hours Thursday, as more than 30 election workers hand-counted ballots on the second floor of the Municipal Building while members of the public watched from behind a strip of yellow tape. Teams of two worked at 12 tables, with the City Clerk’s Office estimating the recount cost the city about $3,000.

Under state Elections Division rules, observers representing both sides of the recount — the city and the petitioners — were allowed to watch the ballot counting. Each side had about 20 observers who rotated among the tables throughout the day.

If observers disagreed with an election worker’s interpretation of a ballot, they could flag it for the Board of Registrars to make a final determination. Board member Jackie Brousseau-Pereira said seven ballots were challenged during the recount. All were determined to be “no” votes, matching the original tally.

The recount was petitioned by opponents of the override, including members of the Easthampton Republican City Committee and Easthampton Active Citizens. Republican City Committee Chairwoman Cathy Wauczinski said the effort was intended to ensure transparency in the city’s election process and to allow for further review of how the election was conducted.

“This is just the beginning,” Wauczinski said after the recount concluded. “We’ll be looking at what possible follow-up there is.”

The group petitioned with concerns about the distribution, handling and processing of mail-in ballots, after its members heard that several residents received empty mail-in envelopes without a ballot, among other issues, including one person who allegedly voted twice in the election. Easthampton Active Citizens had attorney Brian M. Gaff overseeing the recount for them.

The recount also prompted discussion between Gaff and the Board of Registrars over whether the city clerk is required to verify signatures on absentee ballot envelopes by comparing them with signatures on voter registration cards. Gaff said he believed state guidance requires clerks to perform that verification, while members of the City Clerk’s Office disagreed with that interpretation.

City Clerk Mary Ann Giza said nine voters received empty mail-in ballot envelopes, and the city issued replacement ballots to those who reported the problem. Derby previously told the Gazette that Giza identified the issue and responded promptly.

In their recount petition, opponents also cited several other concerns, including discrepancies between the city’s vote totals and those recorded by the state; claims that some voters were mistakenly denied the opportunity to vote in person; questions about the handling of blank ballots; allegations that mail-in and in-office ballots were not properly secured; concerns that the chain of custody was not adequately maintained or documented; and claims that some ballots may have been cast by nonresidents or other ineligible voters.

Wauczinski said she report some of the alleged concerns to the Secretary of the Commonwealth Elections Division. She said the Elections Division told her that a recount would be necessary to have the state investigate additional concerns.

Debra O’Malley, a spokesperson for the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Office, told the Gazette that recounts for local elections are not read by the Elections Division, and any resident complaints regarding a municipality’s election process must be filed separately.

The responsibility to observe the city-side of the recount fell to City Council President Koni Denham, since the City Council voted to host the special election.

“I think that this is a democratic process,” Denham said Thursday during the recount. “The petitioners have a right to know that the ballots were counted correctly.”