There will not be any voting recounts for two close Federal Way City Council races as election results were certified Nov. 23, according to King County Elections.

For machine recounts, the recount threshold is when the difference between two candidates is less than 2,000 votes and also less than 0.5% of the total number of votes cast for both candidates, said Halei Watkins, communications officer for King County Elections.

For a hand recount, it’s less than 150 votes and also less than 0.25% of the total number of votes for both candidates, she said.

The only races going to recount here in King County are the three for machine recount (Newcastle, Issaquah School District, and Public Hospital District #1), all other race results have been certified, Watkins said.

Candidates and campaigns can request recounts up until certification, paid for by the candidate themselves. Per RCW, there’s a deposit of $0.25 per ballot for a hand recount or $0.15 per ballot for a machine recount.

As of the Nov. 23 certification in the Federal Way City Council Position 4 race, incumbent Hoang Tran has retained his seat with 50% of the votes and 78 votes over challenger Daniel Miller, who was leading the week after the election.

For Federal Way City Council Position 5, challenger Jack Walsh has garnered 50% of votes while incumbent Leandra Craft — who was appointed to the council in 2020 — fell just short with 49% of the votes. Walsh led with 109 votes.

Federal Way City Council Position 2 candidate Erica Norton rests at 59% of the votes to incumbent Greg Baruso’s 40% of the votes, as of Nov. 22.

Councilmembers Craft and Baruso were appointed to their positions in 2020. The newly elected council members, Norton and Walsh, were sworn into their seats at private ceremonies on Nov. 23 and 24 respectively.

A ceremonial swearing-in for incoming council members is set for 6:30 p.m. Dec. 7 at the Federal Way City Council meeting.

In Federal Way City Council Position 6, former Mayor Jack Dovey will join the council, while challenger Renae Seam, a first time candidate, conceded the race on Nov. 22.

Overall, Federal Way had a 30.9% voter turnout, according to King County Elections. Over 616,000 voters returned their ballots, marking a countywide turnout of 44%.

For the school board Director No. 1 position, Quentin Morris is to be sworn into the school board seat Tuesday, Dec. 7.

In the Director No. 4 position, incumbent Trudy Davis maintains her lead with 54% of the votes to retained her seat against challenger Jim Storvick.

Jack Walsh, center, stands with city electeds and his family members during a private swearing-in ceremony for his council seat on Nov. 23. Photo courtesy of the City of Federal Way