Recount ordered for Lands Commissioner race

CHENEY – On Thursday, the Washington Secretary of State's Office certified the results of the state's August 6 primary and announced a hand recount for the lands commissioner race.

With around 1.9 million voters participating, the primary covered various open seats from statewide to local levels. The lands commissioner race has produced an exceptionally narrow result, marking the closest second-place finish in Washington's statewide primary history.

In the 2024 primary for Commissioner of Public Lands, Democrat Dave Upthegrove narrowly edged out Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson for second place, receiving 396,300 votes to Pederson's 396,249 – a margin of just 51 votes, or 0.0064%. The candidate who secures second place after the recount will advance to the November 5 General Election, joining Republican Jamie Herrera Beutler, who led the race.

Assistant Secretary of State Kevin McMahan emphasized the importance of the recount in reinforcing the accuracy of the election process. "The mandatory recount underscores the value of every vote and the commitment of our county election officials to ensuring precise results. We appreciate everyone's patience as we conduct the manual recount to reflect voter intent accurately," McMahan said.

Manual recounts, or hand recounts, are required for statewide races when the vote margin between candidates is less than 0.25% of the total votes cast and less than 1,000 votes.

This situation is reminiscent of the 2004 gubernatorial race between Dino Rossi and Christine Gregoire, which also required multiple recounts. In that race, Rossi initially led with 1,373,202 votes to Gregoire's 1,371,781. The initial machine recount extended Rossi's lead to 1,639 votes, but a second recount reduced it to 390 votes. Following a manual recount, Gregoire emerged with a 133-vote lead, which was upheld after legal challenges.

The hand recount for the lands commissioner race aims to ensure accuracy in the closely contested results. Ballots for the November 5 General Election will be mailed to eligible voters by October 18. The deadline for online and mail registrations is October 28, with in-person registration available until 8 p.m. on Election Day.