Recount starts today for Clallam County Charter Review Commission seat
Published 12:01 am Wednesday, December 3, 2014
PORT ANGELES — A machine recount in the race between Ted Miller and Jerry Sinn for a seat on the Clallam County Charter Review Commission will begin at 9 a.m. today.
The Clallam County Canvassing Board scheduled the recount Tuesday.
The recount, which is expected to take several days, will be done in the election center on the lower level of the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St.
State law calls for a mandatory recount by machine if the difference between the apparent winner and next candidate is a difference of fewer than 2,000 votes and less than 0.5 percent.
In the race for Charter Review Commission, five candidates are elected from each of the three county commissioner districts.
The difference between Miller, who came in fifth, and Sinn, who came in sixth, in District 1 is 29 votes, or 0.43 percent.
“A machine recount allows staff to review under voted ballots for any possible missed marks,” said Patty Rosand, county auditor.
In the race, 5,458 ballots contained undervotes.
While voters could vote for five candidates in each district, many did not, Rosand said.
The 13 candidates for the position and political party observers have been invited to view the recount, she said.
Charter review panel members will be sworn in at their first meeting in January.
The charter is Clallam County’s “constitution” for county government.
Clallam County is one of six counties in the state that operate under a home-rule charter, unlike most where procedures are dictated by the Legislature.
State law
Clallam County’s charter, adopted by voters in 1976, allows it to change requirements for county operations beyond those required by the state. Any changes, however, must comply with state law.
A Charter Review Commission is elected every eight years.
It is made up of 15 members who evaluate the charter and propose amendments that will go before voters in November.
The county’s charter has undergone review by five commissions: in 1982, 1988, 1993, 2001 and 2006.
District 1 extends from the eastern county line to Boyce Road in Carlsborg. District 2 is the area between Boyce Road and Valley Creek in Port Angeles. District 3 covers the West End beginning at Valley Creek.
