By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

Not all the votes have been counted in that extremely close
race for Buchanan County Western District Commissioner.

“This is the closest race that I’ve ever seen in the 24 years
I’ve been in this office,” Buchanan County Clerk Mary Baack-Garvey tells
KFEQ/St. Joseph Post.

The unofficial vote total released by Baack-Garvey’s office
late Tuesday night had incumbent Democrat Ron Hook up by only 20 votes over Republican
challenger Everett Goddard, Jr. Hook garnered 7,851 votes to Goddard’s 7,831
votes; a split of 49.96% to 49.83%.

That margin falls well within the requirements for an
automatic recount.

But not all the votes have been counted.

“There is a possibility of a recount,” Baack-Garvey says. “We
still have provisional ballots to process from yesterday (Tuesday) and we are
also waiting on military ballots to come in and those are allowed to arrive by
noon on Friday.”

Those will need to be added and the outcome could change. The
margin likely will not.

“If it’s less than one percent, it’s an automatic recount,”
Baack-Garvey says. “If it’s not, then yes, the opponent would have to pay for
the cost of having the recount done.”

If the margin widens to more than 1%, the trailing candidate would have to request a recount and finance it.

If there is a recount, a formal process will be followed.

“Well, we would have to get a few groups of bipartisan teams,”
according to Baack-Garvey. “We would have to get the machines out and those
teams would have to run every ballot that was voted in the Western District
through the machines again.”

You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.