Posted: November 10, 2010

Washington Supreme Court race still up in the air

After leading in vote counting for the past week, incumbent Washington Supreme Court Justice Richard Sanders now trails challenger Charlie Wiggins by 3,601 votes. With approximately 175,000 more votes to be counted in the next few days, the outcome of this race remains uncertain. Sanders is seeking his fourth term after a contentious campaign that saw him take the lead on election night, dwindling down to approximately 4,000 votes as of Monday. With more ballots counted today, Sanders now trails Wiggins.

In Washington, the recount process is fairly simple. If the margin is less than 2,000 votes and the candidates are within one half of one percent of the votes cast for both candidates, then state law mandates an automatic recount. RCS 29A.64.021. A candidate can also request a recount within 3 business days of certification of the results. RCW 29A.64.011. The candidate must pay twenty-five cents per every ballot requested to be recounted in the jurisdiction if by hand, or fifteen cents if by machine. RCW 29A.64.030. More information can be found here and here.