County commissioner recount

Recount Process Begins for East and West Lane County Commissioner Races

The process of recounting ballots in the East and West Lane County Commissioner races began this morning at the Lane County Elections Office. Ballots for the East Lane County Commissioner race will be recounted today, and ballots for the West Lane County Commissioner race will be recounted tomorrow. The results are expected to be available at the end of the day on Thursday.

The recount process, according to statute, must be done by hand. Five teams of four, comprised of staff with different party affiliations, will hand count the ballots. Given the volume of ballots in each of the districts, each recount is expected to take only a single day. For the West Lane County Commissioner district, elections staff will recount 16,442 returned ballots. In the East Lane County Commissioner district, elections staff will recount 15,559 returned ballots.

Elections staff have conducted recounts in the past and are familiar with the process. According to Oregon Statute, an automatic recount is required if number of votes cast for a candidate differs from a majority of votes cast for the office by one-fifth of one percent or less. Both the East and West Lane County Commissioner elections fell within this margin, triggering the automatic recount.

McKenzie River Reflections