Recounts for three local elections will begin Wednesday as tight races around King County have mandated a second look.
Redmond City Council Position 1 is separated by just 66 votes, Mercer Island City Council Position 1 is separated by 40 votes, and Bothell City Council Position 2 is separated by just five votes.
The razor-thin margin in Bothell means those ballots will be counted by hand starting Wednesday morning. Mercer Island and Redmond will undergo machine recounts Thursday.
To qualify for a mandatory recount, races must meet one of two thresholds: The races must be separated by less than 2,000 votes and less than 0.5% of the votes cast for the candidates for a machine recount. There must be fewer than 150 votes and less than 0.25% of votes cast for a hand recount.
Official results are expected to be certified Friday morning. No other races requested a recount.