Questions about recounts?

The Mayoral race in Seattle is currently looking close and as a result, we have been getting a number of questions about recounts. There are still many days left of ballot counting and it is too early to know if any of these laws will apply to the Seattle Mayoral race, but details are below for the curious.

When is a recount required by state law? A recount is required by state law if the following conditions are met:

• Machine recounts: required for an office or state measure if the difference between the top two candidates or between approval and rejection of a measure is less than 2,000 and also less than 1/2 of 1 percent of the total votes cast for the candidates or the measure.
• Manual recounts: A manual recount is required for a race if the difference is less than 150 votes and also less than 1/4 of one percent.

There is no provision in state law for a mandatory manual recount for state measures, only for a machine recount as stated above.