Washington County voters waiting on two close commission races will get fresh numbers Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 4 p.m., when the county Elections Division posts an extra round of unofficial results.

The county announced the additional release Monday, Nov. 9, citing public interest in several tight contests. The Tuesday update was not part of the original schedule, which called for results only on Fridays.

Two Washington County Board of Commissioners races remain close. Commissioner Pam Treece led Commissioner Nafisa Fai by 1,864 votes for the at-large chair seat, 101,945 to 100,081, as of the most recent count reported by News in the Grove. In District 4, Hillsboro City Councilor Kipperlyn Sinclair led former Hillsboro Mayor Steve Callaway by 1,041 votes, 24,404 to 23,363.

Those margins could shift. Approximately 28,000 ballots remained to be processed as of the county's Monday announcement. The county said a significant number would be processed by the 4 p.m. Tuesday release, but thousands of "challenged ballots" with missing signatures, signature mismatches or other problems cannot be counted yet.

The county is mailing notification letters to voters whose ballots were challenged. Those voters have until Nov. 24 to contact the Elections Office and resolve the issues so their ballots can be included in the final count.

What's at stake

The chair's seat is open after former Chair Kathryn Harrington resigned effective Oct. 2. The position is elected countywide to a four-year term on the five-member Board of Commissioners. The winner takes office Jan. 4, 2027, according to News in the Grove.

Treece has served as the District 2 commissioner since 2019. Fai has served as the District 1 commissioner since 2021. If Fai wins, the board would appoint someone to fill the rest of her District 1 term through 2028. If Treece wins, no vacancy opens because her District 2 term ends this year and Felicita Monteblanco won that seat in May.

In District 4, retiring Commissioner Jerry Willey's seat is on the ballot. Only voters in Banks, Gales Creek, Forest Grove, Cornelius, North Plains, Gaston and part of Hillsboro cast ballots in that race.

Results schedule

After Tuesday's release, the county will post unofficial updates at 4 p.m. on three Fridays: Nov. 13, Nov. 20 and Nov. 27. Certified final results are set for 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 30.

Full results are available at the Oregon Secretary of State's results site. Election resources are posted at WashCoVotes.org.