Secretary of State orders statewide recount for Commissioner of Public Lands race

OLYMPIA — The Office of the Secretary of State has certified the results of the August 6 Primary and ordered a mandatory statewide manual recount for the Commissioner of Public Lands race. The recount, set to begin in counties across Washington on Monday, August 26, comes in response to the closest statewide primary race in state history.

Assistant Secretary of State Kevin McMahan announced Thursday that Democrat Dave Upthegrove narrowly defeated Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson for second place by just 51 votes out of nearly 800,000 cast — a margin of 0.0064%. The winner will face Republican Jamie Herrera Beutler, the top vote-getter, in the November 5 General Election.

"We are confident our election officials and workers throughout the state's 39 county election offices administered an accurate and reliable election for all Washingtonians," McMahan said. "The mandatory recount underscores the importance of every vote and reaffirms our commitment to ensuring accurate election results."

Counties across the state are preparing for the recount process. Chelan County Auditor Skip Moore has announced a detailed five-day recount schedule:

• Monday, August 26, 9:00 AM: Preparation and sorting of ballots by precinct
• Tuesday, August 27, 9:00 AM: Manual hand count
• Wednesday, August 28, 9:00 AM: Manual hand count
• Thursday, August 29, 9:00 AM: Manual hand count
• Friday, August 30, 11:00 AM: Canvassing Board certification of the recount

The Chelan County recount will take place at the Chelan County Auditor's Office, Elections Department, 350 Orondo Ave., Level 3, Wenatchee.

Meanwhile, Douglas County Elections has released its two-day recount schedule:

• Monday, August 26, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.: Separation of ballots into precincts
• Tuesday, August 27, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.: Manual recount of all ballots

The Douglas County recount will take place at the Douglas County Courthouse at 213 S. Rainier Street in Waterville, in the 1st floor Hearings Room.

State law requires a manual recount when the difference between candidates is less than one-quarter of 1% and fewer than 1,000 votes. According to state administrative rules, all counties will certify their recount results on September 3, with the Secretary of State's office certifying statewide results on September 4.

The 2024 primary saw a turnout of 40.9%, with more than 1.9 million Washingtonians participating out of 4.8 million registered voters. This turnout is consistent with the 2022 primary but lower than the 54.4% turnout in 2020.

As counties conduct their recounts, election officials are urging patience. "We ask for everyone's patience as county election officials administer the manual recount to ensure that the intent of every voter is accurately heard," McMahan added.

The state will reimburse counties for all costs associated with this mandatory recount, as per state law.

Voters can find more information about the recount process on the Secretary of State's Elections website. The Office also reminded voters that ballots for the November 5 General Election will be mailed by October 18, with October 28 as the deadline for online and mail registrations.