"Weller leads by 10 votes in tight Pullman City Council race; Votes will be certified Nov. 27; possibility of recount remains"

From yesterday's Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

Pullman City Council incumbent Al Sorensen lost additional ground to challenger Nathan Weller, according to the latest vote count by Whitman County election officials.

Following Wednesday's count, Weller holds a 10-vote lead over Sorensen in the race for the Ward 2 position on the Pullman City Council. Weller has received 273 votes while Sorensen is at 263. Prior to Wednesday's count, Weller's lead was seven votes.

"The count is still close, but it doesn't appear there are a whole lot of ballots out there," Sorensen said. "The odds of having too many of those 100 from my ward are pretty small."

Sorensen said he is not conceding the race yet, but he had anticipated the latest count would be a strong indicator of the final results.

"We knew that after the numbers came out today, they were going to be pretty solid one way or the other," he said.

Sorensen, 45, did not rule out the possibility of requesting a recount of the election. If the difference in the race is .5 percent or less, there will be an automatic recount. Otherwise, Sorensen can request a recount at his own expense.

"I am not saying I am doing it or not, I am just checking into it," Sorensen said. "If we feel that is something that might change the count, we might do it."

Weller, 25, said he is not yet celebrating, considering the number of uncounted ballots and the possibility of a recount.

"Its not official yet; of course my feelings are that I am very thankful to all of the voters of Ward 2," Weller said. "However, things may change and if Al Sorensen was elected I would support him 100 percent."