ORLANDO, Fla. – Voters in Orange County Commissioner District 1 made their voices heard at the polls Tuesday, but they may not know who their commissioner is until Saturday.
Unofficial election results for the race show incumbent Nicole Wilson with 14,052 votes and Austin Arthur with 14,047. That’s just five votes.
Orange County Supervisor of Elections Glen Gilzean said his office is now in the process of starting a recount.
“I feel good because we’re following the law as written and we’re going to make sure that Orange County residents in District 1 know that they can trust the process,” Gilzean said. “A critical part of the process here at the supervisor of elections is making sure that all of the ballots are filled out correctly. Things like making sure even the oval is colored correctly or that you’ve actually remembered to sign your ballot. Those voters affected have been contacted about the issue and will have until 5 p.m. (Thursday) to correct it or their vote will not count.”
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After that, the canvassing board will meet to discuss any other provisional issues and then will order a recount.
“By law, we are mandated to do a recount for that particular race,” he said. “And based on the statistical data, it looks like there will be a manual recount that will also be done on Saturday.”
If there is a tie, the law states it will be decided by “drawing lots,” which could mean Gilzean determines how the race will be decided, even possibly via a coin toss. He says he will find a fair and proper process, if that becomes necessary.
“I believe in our democracy, and I want the voters to be able to decide, even if that’s a handful and made the difference. And so, I don’t think it’s going to go to a coin toss. But if it does, I think it’s a lesson to all,” Wilson said.
Her opponent thinks he won.
“I believe we won,” Arthur said. “What’s clear is that voters are perfectly split on this. You know, it’s a 50/50 situation. So on Day 1, when we get that verification of our win, I’m going to work to build those bridges and to cover those gaps wherever people doubted our momentum that we weren’t their choice.”
Gilzean said the situation is an example of why he decided to add several transparency measures to the office, including livestreaming.
He said he wants voters to know that each of their votes is counted.