2024 election logo button

SOUTH BEND — County elections officials are doing their part.

The Pacific County Auditor’s Office announced on Aug. 23 that they, along with the other 38 counties in Washington, would be conducting a mandatory hand recount in the primary election contest for state commissioner of public lands, where just a few dozen votes statewide separates a pair of candidates for a spot in the general election.

All counties certified their primary election results on Aug. 20, which showed that Dave Upthegrove, a Democrat, was ahead of Sue Kuehl Pederson, a Republican, by just 51 votes for second place in the primary, where the top two vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, advance to the November general election. Jaime Herrera Beutler, a Republican who previously represented Southwest Washington in Congress, finished in first in the primary and will face off against either Upthegrove or Pederson this fall.

Pull Quote

‘We have a great staff and everyone is willing to step in and help where support is needed.’

Alex Gerow, Pacific County auditor

The difference of 51 votes between the candidates comes after more than 1.9 million ballots were cast in the contest. Percentage-wise, Upthegrove holds 20.824% of the vote, while Pederson has 20.822% — a difference of 0.002%.

It is believed to be the closest statewide race in a primary or general election in Washington since the 2004 gubernatorial general election, when Republican candidate Dino Rossi initially led by just 261 votes out of more than 2.8 million cast against Democratic candidate Christine Gregoire. After a protracted recount and legal process that extended into 2005, Gregoire was ultimately declared the winner by 133 votes.

Hand vs. machine recountUnder state law, a mandatory machine recount is triggered when the difference between the two candidates is both less than 2,000 votes and less than 0.50%. But a manual recount, also known as a hand recount, is required when the candidates are separated by less than 1,000 votes and less than 0.25%.

There are key differences between machine and hand recounts, according to Pacific County Auditor Alex Gerow. In a machine recount, staff from her office inspect all undervoted ballots — any ballot in which no vote was cast in that particular contest — to confirm that a vote was indeed not cast in that race.

A hand recount is performed by at least one team of two and includes a hand tally of the votes until all ballots have been tallied, Gerow said. If their separate tallies do not match, they are directed by a designated supervisor to count the votes by hand one more time. If their tallies still do not match after the second tally, the ballots are given to another counting team to confirm the tally.

After the results have been confirmed, the county’s canvassing board will amend the original record of results that were certified with the updated tally.

The hand recount in Pacific County began at 9 a.m. on Aug. 27 in the election room at the auditor’s office in South Bend, and Gerow anticipated that it would take just that day to complete the recount — although time has been set aside on Aug. 28 to resume counting, if need be.

In Pacific County, the original certified results showed that Pederson received 22.91% of the vote, or 1,836 votes, while Upthegrove received 10.87%, or 871 votes — a difference of 965 votes.

In all, six election workers will help conduct the hand recount, as well as Gerow and the county’s election administrator. The elections department within the auditor’s office is “definitely one of the bigger departments within our office in terms of time, effort and resources needed,” Gerow noted, but said the staff is dedicated to making sure elections run smoothly and efficiently.

“The manual recount definitely takes precedence and some projects have been pushed aside. However, we are working hard to make sure they are completed in a timely manner,” she said. “We have a great staff and everyone is willing to step in and help where support is needed.”