For those who thought that the vote count between Republican Julie Ellsworth and Democrat Janie Ward-Engelking couldn’t have gotten any closer, it did just that Thursday during the recount process at the Ada County Elections Office.
On election night Nov. 2, Ellsworth was declared the winner for a House seat in Boise’s District 18. She bested Engelking by nine votes, according to the initial tabulation. Ellsworth had 6,429 votes to Engelking’s 6,420.
Thursday, Engelking, who requested the recount, gained one vote, moving her total to 6,421. Ellsworth lost that one vote, but still won the contest with a total of 6,428. The numbers are not yet official, but are accurate, according to Dan English, the Kootenai County elections chief who monitored the process – as a private citizen – on behalf of the Engelking campaign.
Engelking was entitled, by state law, to a taxpayer-funded recount process because her margin of loss was less than .1 percent, or one vote for every thousand cast in the contest. With more than 12,000 ballots counted, the nine-vote margin met the threshold needed for the recount.
Ellsworth said the final margin wasn’t as much as she would have liked, but that she is happy with the win. “You’d like to win by more,” said Ellsworth, “but I’ll take a margin of seven.”
For her, the process was more than a little nerve-racking. “It was like election night all over again,” Ellsworth commented.
English said that there was no controversy at the elections office during the recount. “It was very straightforward and non-contentious process,” said English. “It was a testament to the accuracy of Ada County.” Ellsworth echoed that sentiment. “Both Republicans and Democrats were impressed,” said Ellsworth. “It was done very professionally by the county.”
Ellsworth received committee assignments last week and will sit on the Judiciary, Rules, and Administration, Revenue and Taxation, and Transportation and Defense committees.
Engelking was not available for comment after the recount ended Thursday night.
[...] the Idaho Reporter: For those who thought that the vote count between Republican Julie Ellsworth and Democrat Janie [...]