King County Elections (KCE) announced today that the Mercer Island School District director Position No. 5 general election race qualifies for a mandatory hand recount. The recount will begin at 8:30 a.m. on both Dec. 6 and Dec. 7.

When the final results were certified on Nov. 28, Jody Lee (50.01%, 3,971 votes) led Todd White (49.82%, 3,956 votes).

According to KCE, “Hand recounts are required when the vote total difference between two candidates is less than 150 votes and also less than 0.25% of the total number of votes cast for both candidates.”

During the recount, staff will review ballots in teams of two and hand tally the votes. Final recount results will be certified virtually at 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 11 and will be livestreamed on the King County Elections Facebook page.

Representatives from both major political parties, the campaigns, and non-partisan observers have been invited to attend the recount, according to the KCE press release. KCE’s livestreaming webcams will also be available on its website until the recount is certified at https://tinyurl.com/2dbyhaz5.

City of Newcastle, Council Position No. 3 is headed to a mandatory machine recount on Dec. 6.