Clarke declared winner in Orange Commission Dist. 3 race

After completing a manual recount of all 39 precincts within Orange County Commission District 3, the county's canvassing board has declared Pete Clarke the winner in a close race with opponent Lui Damiani.

Orange County Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles made the announcement Tuesday afternoon following the hand recount.

A machine recount conducted earlier had revealed that Clarke and Damiani were locked in a dead heat, with just 67 votes separating the two candidates.   Because these results were within .25 percent of the total ballots cast, a manual recount of overvotes and undervotes was ordered.

Following the hand recount, 14 votes were added to the previous total.  Clarke picked up 10 votes for a total of 33,228 and Damiani picked up 4 votes for a total of 33,158. 

With Clarke maintaining a lead of 70 votes, he was declared the winner.