Salomon extends lead over McClelland; race still within range for recount but not hand recount

By Evan Smith

Shoreline City Council candidate Jesse Salomon widened his lead over opponent Robin McClelland in the Thursday vote count.

Salomon’s 49-vote lead keeps the candidates within the range for a mandatory recount but not close enough to require a hand recount.

Salomon had 7,217 votes Thursday to 7,168 for McClelland. With their combined total of 14,385 votes, a margin of 70 votes or fewer would trigger a machine recount and a margin of 24 votes or fewer would trigger a hand recount.

The Thursday returns come with King County having at least 2.7 percent of countywide votes left to be counted. The County had 15,000 uncounted ballots on hand after counting 542,881 ballots through Thursday.

County officials had counted ballots from 50.13 percent of registered voters. The uncounted ballots on hand bring the County turnout to 51.52 percent, compared to an expected countywide turnout of about 52 percent.

Some other ballots still could arrive at the County elections office in Renton. Some are ballots returned to voters for signature verification. Others are ballots from voters who are out of the country, serving in the military, working, traveling or studying.

King County’s 15,000 uncounted ballots are almost three-fourths of statewide uncounted ballots, even though the County has less than a third of the State’s registered voters.