December 1, 2014 / Modified dec 1, 2014 1:58 p.m.

Barber, McSally Ballot Recount Begins This Week

Pima, Cochise counties checking vote-counting machines, will not add new ballots to the results.

CD 2 Race Barber, McSally Your Vote graphic SPOT

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When the ballot recount in Congressional District 2 begins this week, voters should not expect periodic updates about who is ahead in the horse race.

The race between incumbent U.S. Rep. Ron Barber, D-Tucson, and his Republican opponent Martha McSally was so close, it is required to go to a recount, according to state law. That means all the ballots that have already been counted will be verified, said Secretary of State Ken Bennett.

Bennett's office oversees state elections and is tasked with monitoring the recount. But because it is not a new election process, daily updates about which candidate is ahead at any given time will not be issued, Bennett said.

Bennett canvassed the election results for all of the Nov. 4 races and ballot questions Monday morning, making the results in all but CD2 official. He will go to a Maricopa County Superior Court judge today to request the state-mandated recount.

Today and Tuesday, Pima and Cochise counties are checking their equipment. Once a judge orders the recount to begin, the counties will start recounting the ballots.

"Our office will come down on Wednesday to do a double check of the equipment to make sure that they are reading the ballots correctly, and sometime beginning probably around Thursday, the counties will start processing the ballots again on the equipment to recount the ballots that were counted in the first place," Bennett said.

The counties told Bennett they would likely be able to have all the ballots counted by Dec. 16. When they finish, Bennett's office will send the results to the Maricopa County Superior Court judge, who will verify the end of the election and announce the final count results.

That may not be the end of the process, because the candidates, political parties or individual voters could file suits in court challenging the results, or the ballots that were or were not counted in the election. This could delay final results.

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