SOUTH TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) — The machine recount is over, but the Tallahassee Seat 3 City Commission race is not. The margin remains within a quarter of a percentage point, triggering a manual recount, and just 13 votes now separate Tom Derzypolski and Talethia Edwards.
WATCH FULL REPORT BELOW:
Before the machine recount results were released, the number of votes separating the two candidates was 14.
The race started with six candidates vying for the Seat 3 commission position.
P.J. Perez finished first but did not get more than 50% of the vote, sending the race to a November runoff.
The manual recount is now determining who will join Perez on the November ballot.
After Sunday's machine recount, Derzypolski has 10,531 votes and Edwards has 10,518 - a difference of 13.
Carol Weissert, co-president of the League of Women Voters Tallahassee, said the margin speaks directly to the value of showing up at the polls.
"Anybody who says I'm not voting because it doesn't matter should know that we're now down to 13 votes here separating who's going to be in that runoff primary for the city commission seat. So it's incredibly important," Weissert said.
The machine recount showed Derzypolski lost one vote while Edwards' total stayed the same.
Supervisor of Elections Mark Earley said he believes that lost vote could come back during the manual recount, saying it's possible the machine was unable to determine voter intent because of an ambiguous mark.
"The manual recount looks at all of those undervotes and overvotes, votes that the machine couldn't give a voter intent or assign a voter intent to, the ones that need human eyes, and that's what the manual recount is for," Earley said.
The community is welcome to watch the recount process, and Weissert has taken advantage of that. She said seeing the recount up close can help ease skepticism about how ballots are handled.
"You can read about it: Oh yeah, they pay attention to every ballot. But when you actually see it, it really does make a lot of difference," Weissert said.
Both candidates also provided written statements about the recount.
Edwards said in part, "With the margin now at just 13 votes, this election is a powerful reminder of why participation in our democratic process matters."
Derzypolski said in part, "Seeing democracy in action up close and personal has been a great experience. I feel good about the outcome no matter what it may be."
The manual recount will be held at 8:30 a.m. Monday at the Supervisor of Elections office.
The canvassing board and election staff will review 2,122 ballots, including overvotes and undervotes.
Once that process is complete, the canvassing board will sign off on the final results.
Once the results are certified, either Derzypolski or Edwards will face Perez in the Nov. 3 general election.
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