Urban planner Cary Moon held onto second place in the 2017 mayoral primary election, while former U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan's lead shrank slightly today, according to the latest batch of returns released by King County.
With about 170,870 ballots counted, Durkan has 28.7 percent of votes, down from 30.19 percent yesterday. Moon took 17.38 percent, leading attorney and educator Nikkita Oliver by 2,235 votes, compared with 2,578 yesterday. Former State Rep. Jessyn Farrell, who conceded the race today, has 12.61 percent of votes.
As of today's count, Seattle's turnout this year has already surpassed the primary turnout in 2013, the last year the city elected a mayor. And that turnout will grow. There are roughly 14,000 more ballots to count in Seattle, according to Kendall Le Van Hodson, chief of staff of King County Elections. Plus, another 2,200 ballots are being held up by challenges, which typically happens if a voter forgets to sign or if a signature does not match what the county keeps on file. Once those challenges are resolved, they'll add to the number of ballots left to count.
Oliver today released a statement saying her campaign will launch a "ballot chasing" effort, meaning her team of volunteers will reach and help voters who have had their ballots contested.
"Just because election day has come and gone, doesn't mean that the process is over," Oliver said. Her statement also claimed that "immigrants, young people, and working-class people" are more likely to have their ballots questioned. Moon and Durkan have both said they support Oliver's ballot-chasing effort, with Moon asking her supporters to help if the contest comes down to a few hundred votes.
"OIiver's campaign has mobilized and inspired thousands of people. Rushing forward to claim a decisive outcome while some ballots are in limbo would only create distrust. As an engineer, I know that the structure of a coalition is more important than the facade," Moon said in her statement.
Elections workers are taking the weekend off, so it won't be clear who secures the second spot in the general election until next week.
