Nov. 30, 2005

King County Elections begins recount of races in Issaquah, Shoreline and Federal Way

King County Elections today began sorting more than 52,000 ballots for machine recounts in two city council races and a manual recount in a school board director district.

State law requires a machine or manual recount depending on the margin of difference between the candidates. A machine recount is required if the difference between candidates is less than 2,000 votes AND also less than .5 percent of the total votes cast for both candidates. A manual recount is required if the difference between the two candidates is less than 150 votes AND also less than .25 percent of the total votes cast for both candidates.

The differences between the these candidates trigger recounts in the following races:

• A machine recount in the race for Issaquah City Council Position 5

  Maureen McCarry 2,585
  Bill Conley 2,564
  A difference of 21 votes AND .41 percent

• A machine recount in the race for Shoreline City Council Position 3

  Janet Way 7,641
  Paul Grace 7,582
  A difference of 59 votes and .39 percent

• A manual recount in the race for Federal Way School District 1

  Ed Barney 11,379
  Grace Rawsthorne 11,351
  A difference of 28 votes AND .12 percent

King County Elections Director Dean Logan expects to complete all three recounts in four days business days.

“The most complex part of a recount involves accurately sorting ballots into the correct precinct which I expect will take about two days,” said Logan.

Recount timeline

• Wednesday, November 30 – Thursday, December 1 – Staff will sort more than 52,000 ballots cast in all three races into individual precincts.
• Friday, December 2 – Staff will conduct a machine recount of 24,205 ballots in the Shoreline and Issaquah races in one day and certify results at 4 p.m. at the Mail Ballot Operations Satellite located at 3901 First Avenue South.
• Monday December 5 – Working in three person teams, staff will conduct a hand recount of 28,710 ballots in the Federal Way School District. The manual recount will be conducted and certified at 4 p.m. at the Temporary Elections Annex located at 9010 E. Marginal Way.

Results of the second ballot count are considered final unless a candidate requests to pay for a third count within three working days of certification. The cost of a machine recount requires a deposit of 15 cents per ballot or 25 cents per ballot for a hand recount.

Additional information:

• Read frequently asked questions about recounts.

Updated: Nov. 30, 2005

Links to external sites do not constitute endorsements by King County.
By visiting this and other King County web pages,
you expressly agree to be bound by terms and conditions of the site.
The details.