Volpe's Lead Is Cut; Recount Not Expected

An unofficial recanvass of votes in the Massachusetts governor's race last night apparently ruled out a recount requested a few hours earlier by Lt. Gov. Francis X. Bellotti.

The recanvass, which included absentee ballots, gave Bellotti 1,122,615 votes to 1,147,059 for his Republican opponent, former Governor John A. Volpe. Some 42 precincts were missing, but officials expected Volpe's final lead to be about 20,000.

Bellotti had asked for the recount after the State Election Service discovered errors in the vote count from Lawrence. Corrections cut Volpe's lead from 37,250 to 20,654.

According to state law, a recount can be made only if the official tabulation, to be made after Nov. 18, shows the margin to be less than about 12,500.