Christine Gregoire’s victory in the gubernatorial race is a double win for the state Democratic Party and a nearly $10,000 cost to North Olympic Peninsula taxpayers.
The party, which deposited $730,000 to initiate the manual recount, will get its money back in addition to its candidate in the governor’s mansion.
Gregoire lost the first two tallies to Republican Dino Rossi, but prevailed by 129 votes after the second recount.
Since the result of the election reversed — the first time that’s happened in state history — the law requires that each county pay the cost of recounting its votes.
Clallam County’s hand recount of 35,986 general election ballots cost $6,227, County Auditor Cathleen McKeown said.
In Jefferson County, the manual recount of 18,722 ballots cost nearly $3,000, Auditor Donna Eldridge said.
Among all the state’s counties, the cost will likely exceed the $730,000 paid by the state Democratic Party, according to John Pearson, deputy director of the secretary of state’s elections division.
