Mitchell, Chisholm win school board election, 3rd too close to say

A challenger garnered the most votes in the Columbia Falls school board election, while the count is too close to tell for the third open seat.

According to School District 6 business manager and clerk Dustin Zuffelato, challenger Lyle Mitchell had the most votes among the six candidates, 679, and incumbent Dean Chisholm came in second with 667.

In a close third, incumbent Scott Emmerich had 584 votes, and challenger Dee Brown had 581. Darrell Newby got 501 votes, and Jenny Draband got 313.

On the Wednesday morning after election day, Zuffelato said three absentee ballots were at the Flathead County Election Department in Kalispell, and the election administrator there needed to determine the eligibility of six provisional ballots. Those ballots are incorporated into the cavass of votes.

According to state election law, if the margin of victory is less than 1/4 of 1 percent or 10 votes, whichever is greater, the defeated candidate can ask for a recount within five days after the official canvass results are concluded. The school district would pay for the recount.

If a candidate is defeated by a margin exceeding 1/4 of 1 percent but not exceeding 1/2 of 1 percent, the candidate may ask for a recount within five days after the official canvass. The candidate must post a bond to cover the costs of the recount.