Results to be posted twice today

Because new results aren't posted over the weekend, elections is releasing two sets of results tonight.

The first will be at 4:30 p.m., as usual. The second set of results will come out between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. and we'll tweet about it when it happens.

Ballot processing activities will not occur over the weekend and will resume on Monday.

Between the two postings, Elections anticipates adding approximately 100,000 results to the vote totals. The remaining estimated 50,000 ballots on hand will be processed early next week.

Additional information:

• Results (updated at 4:30 p.m. today)
  
• Mail ballot return statistics (updated at 8 p.m.)
  

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.

Results

Initial election results are posted and will be updated daily at 4:30 pm M-F until the election is certified. 

Ballot pre-processing

The 8:15 p.m. results will represent a record number of ballots tabulated for Election Day reporting in King County. This reflects the increased efficiencies of Vote by Mail and King County Elections new technology. 

Voters still have 1.5 hours to drop off ballots or vote at accessible voting locations. 

King County Elections has been processing ballots for several weeks. This includes deflapping, signature verification,  opening, adjudication and scanning. 

By state law, we can't begin counting ballots until 8 p.m., however, efficient ballot pre-processing means results from about 250,000 voters will be counted at 8 p.m. tonight.