Three votes.
That appears to be the margin of victory in Colorado’s closest statehouse race. Republican Rebecca Keltie defeated incumbent Democratic state Rep. Stephanie Vigil by a vote of 20,641 to 20,638 votes to flip the Colorado Springs district, according to the Secretary of State’s office.
This result caps a month of uncertainty since Election Day, as the numbers moved around a bit in the incredibly tight race for House District 16. A preliminary count showed Keltie ahead by six votes. According to a statement from Vigil, when the county conducted a mandatory recount, it awarded six more votes to her, tying the contest. However, the canvass board concluded that three of the new votes for Vigil didn’t count, giving Keltie the slimmest of edges.
State law requires a recount for any race where the margin of victory is 0.5 percent or less of the votes awarded to the highest vote-getter in that contest.
Vigil said there are legal remedies to investigate possible variables that would return the results to what the recount process initially determined, but said she needs to consult with legal experts before making a decision on whether to pursue a challenge.
In a text message to CPR News, she said she doesn’t suspect any foul play or fraud or corruption. “It’s nothing like that. The only thing potentially in question is whether or not the full will of the voters has been read, and that's what I'm contemplating in the immediate aftermath.”
Vigil’s seat is one of three that Democrats lost in the House this year. While that means the party no longer has a super majority in the chamber, they still hold wide margins in the legislature.
Officials also conducted a required recount for House District 19 due to the narrow vote margin in that race between the winner, Republican Dan Woog, a former lawmaker, and Democrat Jillaire McMillan. The seat which includes parts of Weld and Boulder counties didn’t have an incumbent.
According to the Secretary of State’s office, Woog won by 110 votes, with a final count of 28,420 votes to McMillan’s 28,310.
