Recount over; Watts wins third seat

“Good news is when the county conducted its recount, the voter tallies were exactly the same, there was zero difference. I think it’s good for inspiring confidence in the way that the county conducts local elections and the integrity of vote counts. It also does confirm that even though it was a very, very tight margin, Karen Watts will be our third candidate to move on and become a member of the Yuma city council starting January 1st,” said Dave Nash, City Spokesperson.

The results came in Tuesday and they were conducted by the Yuma County Elections Board.

The final results showed Gary Knight and Leslie McClendon secured the other two seats.

Percentages reflect a percentage of the total number of ballots cast, rather than a percentage of the total number of votes cast, because Yuma City Council seats are considered at-large, and each ballot may contain up to three votes for members of the City Council.

Mayor Douglas Nicholls and Presiding Judge James Coil were both re-elected to four-year terms as a result of the Aug. 29th election, having each exceeded 50 percent of the vote.

Votes will become official once canvassed by the Yuma City Council.

A total of 7,579 ballots were cast, including:

Early ballots. Poll results from all of the 3 voting centers.