Auditor: Thurston County Commission race “very, very close”

The three leading candidates in Commissioner District No. 1 each picked up a few more votes, but the primary race is still “very, very close” Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall told The Olympian on Wednesday.

“This is a great example of how every vote is important,” she said.

According to the latest count released by the Thurston County Elections office, Olympia City Councilman Jim Cooper continues to lead the race with 7,064 votes, or 34.75 percent. Former Tenino Police Chief John Hutchings continues to hold a slight lead for second place with 3,876 votes, or 19.07 percent, while former Olympia School Board member and land use attorney Allen Miller has 3,828 votes, or 18.83 percent.

The top two vote-getters will advance to November’s general election. Commissioner Cathy Wolfe is retiring at the end of her term.

Hall said there were 126 ballots that were challenged in the district, including 59 with questionable signatures that didn’t match what the county had on file. In addition, 31 voters didn’t sign their declarations. All of those voters were mailed blank declarations to sign and resubmit by 4:30 p.m. Monday, Hall said.

If they don’t respond in time, their votes won’t be counted.

“We do call everybody who has a ballot that was challenged and explain how they can fix it,” Hall said.

The election is scheduled to be certified Aug. 16.

At this point, Hutchings’ lead over Miller doesn’t fall within a mandatory recount range, Hall said.

However, any candidate can request a recount. Candidates can pay a deposit of 15 cents a ballot for machine recount, and 25 cents to hand count every ballot. If the results in the race don’t change, the deposit is used to pay for the recount, Hall said.

This story was originally published August 11, 2016 at 5:34 AM with the headline "Auditor: Thurston County Commission race “very, very close”."