Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — An incumbent House representative is a sliver away from losing his seat after updated results released Friday showed only seven votes separated him from his opponent.
But election experts caution the race remains in flux as ballots continue to be counted.
Rep. Mel Brown, R-Coalville, once the Utah House speaker, was 64 votes behind his challenger, Morgan County Commissioner Logan Wilde, on election night. But Friday, updated results showed Brown first pulling ahead by seven votes during an update at noon, then again falling behind later that afternoon by seven votes.
Brown is now behind Wild 2,463 votes to 2,456 votes.
"It's awful close," Wilde said. "My gut is turning right now."
Friday's results were Utah's first ever round of vote count updates allowed under a new law that took effect just in time for the 2016 primaries.
Previously, state law prohibited clerks from releasing any updated results after election night until two weeks later following the official canvass. But now, during a year when a record number of counties held vote-by-mail elections, clerks are required to update vote counts as they're tabulated.
While Wilde is now in the lead, State Elections Director Mark Thomas said the House District 53 race could still tip either way, since ballots will still trickle in until the July 12 canvass.
"It's obviously a very close race, so it will be interesting to watch as we get additional results coming," he said.
More results will be posted next week on Tuesday and Friday, between noon and 3 p.m. on both days.
Friday's results bumped statewide turnout up to about 287,000, nearly 23 percent of the state's registered voter population. That's up several thousand from Tuesday night's 22 percent.
Thomas estimated that statewide, another 12,000 ballots could be reported Friday, but those results won't be released until Tuesday.
RELATED: New law requires more updates on election results
Thanks to a new law taking effect just in time for Tuesday's primary elections, anxious candidates and voters following tight races may not have to endure a two-week wait to learn the outcome."I hope to win, but it's awful early to say as close as this race is," Wilde said. "I'm still very nervous it could go either way between now and the 12th. I'm just cautiously optimistic, waiting."
The commissioner said his phone lit up around noon when the state posted the results online, flooding him with text messages from friends eager to tell him about the results.
He said he never expected the race to be so close, especially against an opponent who used to be House speaker.
"I thought this would be a long shot," he said. "(Brown) is a guy that has great name recognition. … Even when I did my polls the week before election day, we were only at 40 percent. To have such a close race is amazing to me."
Brown was not immediately available for comment Friday.
Thomas said it was exciting to be able to release results under the new election law, passed last year to allow voters and candidates to follow narrow races more closely between election night and the canvass deadline.
"Two years ago I would have been charged with a felony for doing what I just did," Thomas laughed. "It's nice that we're able to have the law change to get this information out to the public and candidates quicker. In the end, I think having that transparency is a win all the way around."
