MINOT — Every vote cast in an election counts. When it comes to election recounts, even fractions count. That's what the Ward Counting Canvassing Board discovered Monday when they met to certify the results of the June 14 primary election.
The closest race, and the one that has received a lot of attention, was for the Republican House of Representatives in District 3. Initial results showed Lori VanWinkle, Minot, the top vote getter with 788 votes. She was followed by incumbent Jeff Hoverson, Minot, with 617 votes, and challenger Roscoe Streyle, Minot, with 616. The top two vote getters advance to the general election in November.
During Monday’s Canvassing Board an additional 22 votes were added to the candidate totals. The votes were absentee ballots that were postmarked by midnight the day prior to the election, as required by law.
Ten of the newly counted ballots were for Hoverson, nine for VanWinkle, and three for Streyle. While VanWinkle’s win was never in doubt, the battle for ballots between Hoverson and Streyle certainly was, with the loser being eliminated from the November ballot.
The revised totals showed Hoverson with 627 votes to Streyle’s 619, a difference of eight votes. An automatic recount would have been triggered had the difference been a single vote less.
“The difference would have to be seven or below, not eight,” said Leanne Oliver, Secretary of State election specialist.
An automatic recount is triggered by one percent of the votes garnered by the election front-runner. In this case, VanWinkle’s 797 votes, of which one percent is 7.97. According to the Secretary of State’s office, that number is not rounded up, meaning Hoverson avoided an automatic recount by a mere three-hundredths of a vote.
“After today I’m less concerned about a recount,” said Hoverson.
While an automatic recount is not required, Streyle can request a recount because the difference is less than two percent. However, such a recount would have to be paid for by the candidate. As of late Monday afternoon, Streyle had not committed one way or another about requesting a recount.
“I haven't even thought about it. Who knows?” said Streyle. “It’s not a lot, but it is a lot.”
