Only 313 votes separate the candidates in line for the second Arizona House seat in District 27, according to Maricopa County’s final unofficial tally. When the county released the results on Nov. 11, it said the race would require a recount.
District 27 voters could choose two House candidates. The county’s report shows Democrat Deborah Howard first with 40,167 votes. Republicans Lisa Fink and Tony Rivero follow with 33,731 and 33,418, respectively. The county identified the gap between second and third place as the one that matters for the recount.
Arizona’s recount law sets the threshold at half a percent or less of the votes cast for the two candidates being compared. Fink and Rivero received 67,149 votes between them. Divide 313 by that figure and the gap is about 0.466%, inside the threshold if the canvass confirms those totals. Using every vote in the contest would make the gap look smaller and would use the wrong denominator.
The first date to watch is Nov. 18, when the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on the canvass. The statewide canvass is scheduled for Nov. 23. Those are steps toward making the returns official; neither is the recount itself.
If the canvass shows a recount is required, the secretary of state certifies the facts to the Maricopa County Superior Court. The court orders the recount and, once it receives the new tally, announces the result and enters an order.