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Sanders Requests Recanvass in Kentucky Primary Contest

A recanvass is a review of the total votes as originally tabulated, not a full recount.
Image: TOPSHOT-US-VOTE-DEMOCRATS-SANDERS
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders addresses a primary election night rally in Carson, Calif., on May 17, 2016.ROBYN BECK / AFP - Getty Images

Bernie Sanders' campaign has requested a recanvassing in the Kentucky presidential primary, NBC News confirms.

A recanvass is essentially a review of the total votes as originally tabulated, not a full recount, which would include a full examination of ballots and voting machines.

After the original tally of votes after last Tuesday’s Kentucky primary, Hillary Clinton led with 212,550 votes compared to Sanders’ 210,626 votes. NBC News projected Clinton to be the apparent winner in the contest last week.

But because the state allocates its delegates proportionally, Sanders would likely only stand to gain one pledged delegate even if the ultimate winner of the contest is amended after the recanvassing.

Clinton leads Sanders in the contest for pledged delegates, 1,771 to 1,491. When superdelegates – or unbound elected officials – are included in that count, Clinton needs to win only nine percent of the delegates in the remaining primary contests to amass a majority and clinch the Democratic nomination.

A Clinton aide told NBC News that the former secretary of state's campaign will not contest the recanvas request and suggested that Sanders' attempts to challenge the results despite a minuscule potential impact on the overall delegate count is mostly a way for Sanders to fire up his supporters.

"He's got a cash flow issue," the aide said. "I'm sure he'll use this to fundraise."