Two Election Races Likely Headed To Recount In Chelan County

Two races from this month's general election in Chelan County will likely go to a recount. 

They include a Wenatchee School Board race separated by 19 votes, and a Hospital District contest separated by 29 votes. 

Chelan County Auditor Skip Moore says the recount will take place after election results are finalized. 

"We will certify the results on the 28th," said Moore. "Then based on the one-half of one percent calculation, any race at that time the canvassing board will determine that there needs to be a recount for that race. And then we will set the timeline for that."  

State law requires a recount in any race decided by less than one-half of one percent, which is expected to be the case for the school board and hospital district contests.  

The races in question are the Wenatchee School Board Position 2 between incumbent board President Maria Iniguez and challenger Randy Smith, and the county Hospital District Commissioner #1 race between Mary T Signorelli and Len England.  

Iniguez leads Smith by 19 votes while England is ahead of Signorelli by 29 votes. 

There are 111 ballots still to be counted in Chelan County. There will not be any additional updates on results before certification next Tuesday. 

Moore says there’s a process in place for the recount. 

“What we will do is we will separate the ballots that have that race on them on the two different races,” Moore said. “We’ll pull those ballots from the entire mix. And then, we will hand count those individual ballots.” 

Moore says there'll be a three-day process for the recount with results known by December 1st. 

The plan is to separate the ballots next Wednesday the 29th, and then perform the hand recount on Thursday the 30th and Friday December 1st. 

Moore says his office is prepared for the process with extra staff set to help out with the recount.  

The county canvassing board, which is composed of Moore, Chelan County Commissioner Tiffany Gering and Chelan County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Susan Hinkle, will certify election results on November 28th. 

The canvassing board will then direct the auditor’s office to recount the two races. The board will recertify election results once the outcomes of the recounted races are determined.