Arizona Democrat Katie Hobbs’s lead over Republican Kari Lake in the gubernatorial race remained about the same after the latest updates from counties still tabulating votes.
Hobbs, the Arizona secretary of state, has a lead of 17,200, down 49 votes.
The latest updates saw Hobbs gain 5,021 votes and Lake gain 5,070 votes.
The margin remains at 0.6 percent, just outside of the 0.5 percent that, under Arizona law, triggers an automatic recount.
If the margin ends up that close, the secretary of state is required to certify the facts to a court, and the court is required to order a recount.
“In the event of a court-ordered recount of votes that were cast and tabulated on electronic voting equipment for a state primary, state general or state special election, the secretary of state shall order the ballots recounted on an automatic tabulating system to be furnished and programmed under the supervision of the secretary of state. In the event of a court-ordered recount for elections other than for the office of supervisor, the secretary of state may designate the county board of supervisors to perform the duties assigned to the secretary of state,” Arizona law states.
The results of the recount are presented to the court and the court will then announce the result, according to the law.
Some counties say more ballots are still uncounted. Maricopa County, the state’s largest, is listed as having 9,009 left by Hobbs’s office but the county itself says it has 16,886 remaining.
The secretary of state site “only shows votes for the named candidates on the ballot,” a Maricopa County spokesperson told The Epoch Times via email. “Write-ins, undervotes, and overvotes are tallied in our totals.”
Pima, Pinal, and Apache counties are the others listed as having more than 1,000 ballots left to count.
Hobbs has declared victory after media outlets called the race for her earlier in the week. She held a victory rally on Tuesday, promising to take action to lower the cost of living for Arizonians and tackle other issues, such as the “border crisis.”
If Hobbs wins, she'll succeed Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, who was prevented from running again due to term limits.
Lake has not yet conceded. She promoted on Wednesday a social media post noting that the race was close to the margin that triggers a recount.
