MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — A recount is expected to begin this week in the race for Montgomery County Executive in Maryland's Democratic primary.
The Maryland Board of Elections certified that incumbent Marc Elrich won by a paper-thin margin of 35 votes over challenger David Blair over the weekend.
Now, Blair has filed a petition for a recount, nearly a month after the election took place. It is unclear how long the recount will take, but it is expected to begin Friday.
Following the certification of votes, Elrich thanked his supporters.
"I am honored to be the Democratic nominee for County Executive," he wrote late Saturday night. "I want to thank the voters. I love this county and care about our residents so very deeply. This primary has been a long journey (and certainly exciting)."
But that long journey is not over yet.
Any candidate for public or party office who has been defeated in any election can petition for a recount, according to the government, and that can be requested for all of the precincts in which the office was on the ballot or any specific precincts in question.
A recount can only be requested if the margin of difference between the two candidates with the most votes is less than 5%.
The primary results took an especially long time because of Maryland's rules when it comes to counting mail-in ballots.
Currently, mail-in ballots can't be counted until two days after Election Day.
The Maryland State Board of Elections voted Monday to file an emergency petition in court that seeks an earlier count of mail-in ballots for the general election in November.
Additionally, Maryland’s primary was delayed by three weeks due to legal challenges involving congressional and legislative redistricting.
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