Results from the Republican primary in Arizona’s 5th Congressional District will be finalized Monday.
Almost two weeks ago it appeared former GoDaddy executive Christine Jones had defeated State Senate President Andy Biggs. However mail-in and provisional ballots tilted the numbers in favor of Biggs. After a court hearing resulted in the inclusion of additional provisional ballots on Friday, Biggs now holds a 16-vote lead.
A Maricopa County Superior Court judge ordered the county recorder’s office to count 18 previously rejected provisional ballots that were inadvertently cast in the wrong precinct. The judge ruled poll workers had mistakenly told the voters their ballots would count even though Arizona law says ballots cast in the wrong precinct are thrown out.
The recorder’s office finished the counting Friday afternoon and now the county Board of Supervisors will make the results official. They will then transmit the vote tally to the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office, which will certify the results. But Elizabeth Bartholomew with the recorder’s office said their work isn’t over yet.
"Right away we need to start on the recount," Bartholomew said.
State law mandates the recount because the difference between Jones and Biggs is less than one tenth of one percent of their combined vote total.
