Clatsop County election workers will be performing a recount of two Cannon Beach ballot measures after discovering an administrative error during the certification process.

In June, the county issued a press release confirming that unofficial results for two measures — Measure 04-235 and Measure 04-236 — had been switched on the Oregon Secretary of State’s website due to an error by the state. Measure 04-235 would have required a public vote on all non-emergency debts, bonds or financing agreements exceeding 50% of government activity revenues from the past year, while Measure 04-236 would have clarified existing policies around when the City Council could incur debt without voter approval.  

In the weeks following the May 20 election, it appeared Measure 4-235 was passing when in reality Measure 4-236 was passing, the county said. The votes were correctly counted by the county, and the error only had to do with labeling. 

On Monday, Kathryn Bestgen, a Cannon Beach resident, filed a demand for a recall with the Secretary of State’s office for both ballot measures. 

“The Charter amendment requiring vote to incur debt had originally passed and due to an apparent administrative error was subsequently reversed,” Bestgen said in a statement to The Astorian. “Knowing that the votes were close in number, several people in the community, myself included, would like to use the democratic processes put in place to ensure that the outcome is correct and fairly represented. I believe that a recount on both measures is the best way to achieve this goal.”

The recount will begin at 9 a.m. on July 10 at the Judge Guy Boyington Building at 857 Commercial Street in Astoria. County Clerk of Elections Tracie Krevanko said the process is anticipated to take no longer than five hours, and will involve two recount boards made up of four seasonal county elections workers counting the ballots by hand. 

The petitioning party and appointees from the city will have the option to sit at the table with the election workers, while others will be allowed to observe the recount from elsewhere in the room. Krevanko said recounts like this one are relatively uncommon; the last demand for recount in the county was filed for another Cannon Beach measure on the November 2, 2021 regular election ballot.