Orange County Supervisor of Elections gives update on District 1 Commission race

The Orange County Supervisor of Elections office has given an update on the District 1 County Commission race between challenger Austin Arthur and incumbent Nicole Wilson.

The Orange County Canvassing Board met to continue certifying the election Thursday, Aug. 22. Part of the certification process is to review the write-in votes for declared candidates.

In the race there are accepted write-in votes, which may push the race to a November runoff rather than a recount in the event that neither of the top two candidates has a majority of the total votes, according to Christoper Heath, chief elections administrator for the SOE.

By the end of the primary election day Tuesday, Aug. 20, Wilson led the race by five votes.

According to the SOE unofficial election results, Arthur received 14,047 votes (49.99%), while Wilson garnered 14,052 (50.01%). There were 89 write-in votes.

Final numbers and a decision on a recount will not be made until after 5 p.m., which is the deadline for voters to cure their ballots and for the final canvassing of provisional ballots.

Those who wish to watch the Orange County Canvassing Board live stream can click here.

To read the Orange Observer's full recap of the primary election, click here.

To read the Orange Observer's outline of how the SOE office will determine the District 1 winner, click here.