Spokane City Council Pres. race could be headed for recount

Kelsie Morgan by Kelsie Morgan

One week after Election Day, the direction of Spokane’s city council for the next four years is still up in the air.

Although there are still thousands of ballots to be counted, right now just 145 votes separate the candidates for city council president.

We haven’t seen new numbers since Friday because of the Veterans Day holiday. As of that last update, Cindy Wendle leads Breean Beggs by less than one quarter of one percent.

That could change Tuesday afternoon when updated election results are announced.

If there still is no clear winner when all votes are counted, a mandatory recount could be triggered.

According to Washington’s Secretary of State, a machine recount is required when an election comes down to less than 2,000 votes and less than half a percent.

A manual recount is required when the race comes down to fewer than 150 votes and less than a quarter of a percent.

As things stand right now, Spokane’s council president race would qualify for a mandatory manual recount. Even if a recount is not automatically triggered, either candidate can still request one.

It’s not clear when all remaining ballots will be tallied, but Tuesday’s numbers should include a good amount of them. The election will not be officially certified until November 26.

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