Hand recount on way in state Commissioner of Public Lands primary

RENTON, Wash. — There will be a recount in the primary race for Washington’s Commissioner of Public Lands.

With 1.9 million votes counted, the difference between the second and third place candidates is only 51 votes.

The race has been in limbo for weeks, and only two candidates can earn a place on the November ballot.

Voters across the state put Jaime Herrera Beutler at the top of the November ticket for the position. However, there will be a recount for the second spot because of the slim margin between Dave Upthegrove and Sue Kuehl Pederson.

The Seattle Times is reporting that on Thursday, Secretary of State Steve Hobbs is expected to certify the votes and set a date for the counties to finish their recounts.

When there’s such a narrow margin in votes, the count is done by hand instead of a machine. That’s the standard when there is less than a quarter of 1% of the vote -- and less than 150 ballots -- separating two candidates.

Each county’s canvassing board will decide a date and time to for its recount then submit those results to the Secretary of State’s Office to certify the results.

The clock is ticking on the recount since election officials want to start working on ballots for the November General Election.

According to the Seattle Times, the last election that triggered a statewide recount was the 2004 governor’s race.

The last time a statewide primary race triggered a recount was in 1960 for the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

©2024 Cox Media Group