Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

County results a few days away



 (The Spokesman-Review)

Spokane County elections workers completed a hand recount Monday of all ballots cast at polling stations on Nov. 2, and will begin recounting absentee ballots today.

Those poll site ballots represent slightly more than a third of the 203,000 ballots cast in the election, Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton said.

Representatives from the Democratic and Republican parties are closely monitoring the tallies from each of the county’s 286 precincts. But until the totals for all ballots from each precinct are available, it’s not possible to say whether Republican Dino Rossi or Democrat Christine Gregoire is gaining votes in this second recount of the ballots.

About 30 of the ballots inspected so far have been marked in a way that a three-member County Board of Canvassers will have to determine how each should be counted.

Although there are more absentee ballots, counting them might be a faster process because each one has already been inspected by elections workers after it arrived in the mail, Dalton said.

Any obvious questions about the way a ballot was marked should have already been addressed.

Spokane should finish its hand recount by Thursday.