A
tally of uncounted ballots from the Nov. 6 General Election conducted
Friday by the Clatsop County Elections Division resulted in a wider
margin
between the two candidates in the close race for Gearhart mayor.
The new totals, following the count, are now 356 votes for Dianne Widdop and 350 for Bob Shortman.
But the complete tally will not be finalized until after Nov. 16, the deadline to resolve some uncounted ballots.
On
Friday the elections division tallied 48 ballots that remained
uncounted after Nov. 6. They included replacement ballots, provisional
ballots
given to voters whose registration status was unclear, ballots of
Clatsop County voters that were dropped off in other counties, and
ballots in which the voter signature on the ballot envelope did not
match the voter’s registration card.
In
the case of ballots withheld due to discrepancies in signatures, state
law directs county elections officials to notify those voters whose
ballots
have been set aside and allow them to come to the elections office to
verify their ballot signatures. Those voters have 10 days, or until Nov.
16, to respond.
If
the Gearhart race ends in a margin of one or two votes between the
candidates, an automatic hand-recount will conducted, under state
election
law requiring recounts for margins of less than one-fifth of 1 percent.
If the margin is larger, one of the candidates could request a hand
recount of ballots in the race, but would have to pay the cost of the
recount.
The latest ballot totals are available at
www.co.clatsop.or.us.
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