EASTHAMPTON — A hand recount of the city’s successful $6.9 million Proposition 2½ override, which passed by 239 votes, will begin Thursday at noon after opponents petitioned for a recount.

The Board of Registrars set the date last week for the recount, which will be open to the public on the second floor of the Municipal Building at 50 Payson Ave. The override was the only question on the June 9 ballot, and it passed by a vote of 3,312 to 3,073, according to unofficial results.

The registrars verified that the petitioners had collected enough signatures to trigger the recount, which were submitted earlier this month to the City Clerk’s Office. Mayor Salem Derby said the recount is estimated to cost the city about $8,000.

Derby previously told the Gazette that he “doesn’t think there’s any chance” the recount will overturn the election result, and other city officials have agreed, such as City Councilor Thomas Peake who called it a “Hail Mary.”

“I think the recount numbers (the 239-vote margin) are sufficient enough that it won’t be an issue,” City Councilor James “JP” Kwiecinski said at a June 24 council meeting. “Usually you see recounts much closer.”

The petition, led by members of the Easthampton Republican City Committee and Easthampton Active Citizens, sought a hand count of all ballots cast, citing concerns about the distribution, handling and processing of mail-in ballots, among other issues related to the election’s transparency.

The petition lists several reasons the petitioners say justify a hand recount, including “vote count different than total vote count recorded by state,” “voters denied opportunity to vote in person erroneously,” “blank ballots need further review,” “votes cast by mail or in office not secured properly,” “chain of custody not maintained or documented properly,” and “votes cast by non-residents or other ineligible voters,” among other concerns.

Republican City Committee Chairwoman Cathy Wauczinski said the recount is intended to ensure the election was conducted transparently and to prompt oversight from the secretary of the commonwealth’s Elections Division. She said she was motivated in part after hearing that several residents had received empty mail-in ballot envelopes.

City Clerk Mary Ann Giza told the Gazette that there were approximately nine mail-in ballots that were sent empty, and the city sent new ones to those who reported having an empty envelope. Derby previously told the Gazette that Giza identified the issue with the mail-in ballots and responded promptly.

“The main goal is to make sure our elections are secure and accurate,” Wauczinski told the Gazette last week. “It’s not about the money, for many of us that are fighting for this it’s about those that can’t fight for themselves.”

A representative of each “side” of the ballot question — the city and the recount petitioners — is allowed to attend with another member to watch the recount, according to state election laws. Additionally, each candidate or representative may also be represented by an “agent,” who needs to be registered, to oversee each election officer counting the ballots. At least three members of the Board of Registrars must be in attendance.

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.

Derby told the Gazette that even if the Election Division does investigate the claims included in the petition, it will not reveal any issues. “I don’t think they’re going to find any new issues,” he said.

“I think that the city does a great job running elections,” Derby said. “We’re lucky to have a lot of hard-working city election workers and I have confidence in them.”