Kansas orders hand counts in six tight elections

A margin of fewer than 6,000 votes has forced Kansas election officials to manually recount ballots in the state's governor's race. Secretary of State Scott Schwab announced on Wednesday that close-race audits have begun for six contests. These audits follow general election results where the gap between top candidates was small enough to trigger legal requirements.

State law mandates a review when unofficial results show a difference of 1 percent or less of total votes. County election officials must conduct a hand count for 10 percent of precincts in each county for every qualifying race. The process requires a minimum of one audited precinct per county.

In the governor's race, Democrat Cindy Holscher leads Republican Ty Masterson by 0.6 percent. With 98 percent of the vote counted, the lead is under 6,000 votes. Holscher has declared victory, though the race has not been officially called.

Four other statewide and local races are under audit. Republican Pat Proctor leads Democrat Jennifer Day by 1 percent in the secretary of state race. Democrat Chris Mann leads incumbent Kris Kobach by 1 percent in the attorney general race. Mann has declared victory, but the outcome is not yet final.

Three House districts face audits due to razor-thin margins. Democrat Sara Kiewiet leads incumbent Sean E. Tarwater by 43 votes in District 27. Incumbent David Buehler leads Mika Stilwell by 67 votes in District 40. In District 117, Democrat Brandon Holland leads incumbent Adam Turk by 133 votes.