2 King County elections to see mandatory recounts
Dec 6, 2023, 7:34 AM
An elections worker sorts unopened ballots at the King County Elections headquarters on Aug. 4, 2020 in Renton. (Photo: David Ryder, Getty Images)
(Photo: David Ryder, Getty Images)
King County Elections announced it would be conducting two mandatory recounts in the November 2023 election.
The two elections being recounted are a city council position in Newcastle and a school district director on Mercer Island. These were the only elections that a recount was requested before the Nov. 30 deadline for the 2023 general election.
More news: Seattle City Council election shows Democrats worried ‘city streets are unsafe’
The recount for Position 3 of the Newcastle City Council will be done by machine and will happen Wednesday. The recount for the Mercer Island School Director Position 5 will be done by hand Wednesday and Thursday.
Washington election rules call for a mandatory machine recount if the margin between two candidates is fewer than 2,000 votes and less than 0.5% of the total votes cast for both candidates. Manual recounts are required if the margin is fewer than 150 votes and less than 0.25% of the total votes cast for both candidates.
“Representatives from both major political parties, the campaigns, and non-partisan observers have been invited to attend,” King County Elections said in a press release sent to KIRO Newsradio.
The final recounts for both elections will be certified on Monday at 10:30 a.m.
