Recount planned Tuesday

The Daily Inter Lake

The Flathead County Election Department plans to conduct a recount for the House District 8 race starting at 9 a.m. on Tuesday.

The recount was requested by incumbent Rep. Craig Witte, R-Kalispell, and the state Republican Party.

Witte officially trails Democratic challenger Cheryl Steenson by 20 votes out of the 4,044 that were cast in the Nov. 4 election.

Witte and Erik Iverson, the GOP state chairman, said the margin was slim enough to warrant a recount for the purpose of checking accuracy. As it stands now, the Montana House is split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats. A change in the House District 8 voting results could change that balance.

Because the 20-vote margin is within a half a percent of the total votes cast, Witte and his supporters must pay for the recount. Had it been within a quarter of one percent, the county would have to foot the bill.

The cost of the recount will depend on the amount of staff time and resources required to get the job done.

The recount will be conducted in the basement of the Flathead County Justice Center.