Stokes-Laing Race for Bellevue City Council Headed for Manual Recount

The Bellevue City Council race between John Stokes and Aaron Laing is headed for a manual recount after 51 votes separate Stokes from Laing.

The manual recount is scheduled to start Dec. 8 at 9 a.m. at the King County Elections office, 919 SW Grady Way, Renton, said elections spokewoman Kim van Ekstrom.

The approximately 35,865 ballots could take two days to count, though it is uncertain exactly how long the counting will take, she said.

Stokes and Laing are in a close race for the seat that will be vacated by Grant Degginger.

In the other contested races, incumbent city council members Claudia Balducci and John Chelminiak easily won over their challengers, Patti Mann and Michelle Hilhorst. Councilwoman Jennifer Robertson was not challenged for her seat.

A mandatory hand recount is triggered when the difference between the two candidates is fewer than 150 votes and when the difference between them is less than a quarter of a percent, according to elections officials.

With 0.17 percentage points separating Stokes from Laing, the race fits both criteria.

Election night saw the. However, the campaign for the seat being vacated by Degginger grew heated, as .

Two other King County races are headed for a manual recount: Enumclaw School District Position 4 and a race in Public Hospital District 4 (Snoqualmie Valley Hospital District), van Ekstrom said.