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Hand recount in Washington primary race for commissioner of public lands to begin Monday

Democrat Dave Upthegrove and Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson are separated by just 51 votes, triggering an automatic hand recount.

SEATTLE — A hand recount of the primary race for commissioner of public lands began Monday to decide who will continue to the November general election. 

Democrat Dave Upthegrove led Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson by just 51 votes after the primary election was certified last week. Whoever comes out with the most votes following the recount will advance to face off against Jaime Herrera-Butler in November.

This is the first statewide recount in a primary election in Washington state since 1960. About two million ballots will be recounted by hand. 

King County Elections began recounting their portion Monday, which included about 560,000 ballots, according to Communications Manager Halei Watkins. 

As of 2 p.m., the county had recounted 52,000 ballots and had not found any discrepancies.

The Washington Secretary of State's website said a machine recount is required when there is a 2,000-vote difference between candidates or less than half of 1% of the total number of votes cast for both candidates.

However, a statewide hand recount is required when the difference between the two candidates is less than 1,000 votes and less than one-fourth of 1%, which is the margin between Upthegrove and Pederson. 

In Washington state primaries, the top two candidates who receive the most votes in any given race advance to the general election, regardless of party.

How does a recount work? 

Each county election office will complete the recount of ballots from their area and Washington state will reimburse each county for all costs associated with this mandatory recount under state law.

In King County, about 100 people were re-hired to help with the recount. They are divided into teams of two, which is standard across the state. 

Runners bring boxes containing 250 ballots to the counters. The boxes are sealed with a tamper evidence seal, which has a unique number on it and is logged onto the batch itself, according to Watkins. 

The pair counts the box, going through every ballot. If the ballots are correct, they move on. If there is a discrepancy, the pair recounts the box. 

There are also other observers in the room to watch the process. These include up to two observers from the campaigns and four observers from both major parties.

The expected completion date for the recount is approximately Sept. 3 or 4. King County said it would take about a week for it to complete the work. Watkins said the county is not in a rush, and they want to do the work right. 

"This recount is not a race," Watkins said. "We want to make sure that it's done and done correctly, and that's going to take human beings some time to do."

RELATED: Live, updated results for the top 2024 primary election races in Washington state

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