Posted 8-20-08

No State Recounts Required

State Capitol (Secretary of State's Office) -- Secretary of State, Max Maxfield, announced today that given the unofficial election results submitted by county clerks, it appears as if no statutory recounts are required in any statewide or legislative races.

“There were certainly some close races, but none that by statute require a recount at this time,” stated Maxfield. According to state statute (W.S. 22-16-109) a recount is required if the number of votes between the winning and losing candidate is less than one
percent of the votes cast for the winning candidate.

“Some people have asked about the closeness of the Congressional race on the Democratic ticket,” Maxfield stated. The unofficial results show Nick Carter with 12,310 votes and Keith Goodenough with 12,006 votes. Although close, no recount is required under statue. “The 1 per cent rule, if applied to that race, would mean that the threshold for a recount would be 123 votes (1% of 12, 310). If the distance between the two candidates was 123 votes or even closer then a recount would be called for. In this case since the 304 vote margin is greater than the threshold of 123, no recount is required,” Maxfield explained. There was an even closer race in Albany County between Jan Alvaney and Jim Thompson on the Democratic ticket in House District 46. Only 4 votes separate that race, according to unofficial results. “Even that does not require a statutory recount because the 1% threshold is only 3.47 in that race. That’s as close as it can get,” Maxfield stated. Remember, these results are all unofficial until after county canvassing boards meet and declare their results official. Therefore I cannot officially determine the need for any recounts until after that time,” Maxfield explained.

According to state statue (W.S. 22-11-108) a retabulation may be performed at the discretion of the county clerk.