It’s official: Incumbent Grays Harbor County Auditor Chris Thomas edged out Hoquiam Mayor Jasmine Dickhoff by 10 votes in the three-way primary and will face Republican challenger Joe MacLean, the overall winner in the race, in the November general election.

“The recount ended this morning,” said county elections administrator Scott Turnbull Thursday. “There were no changes in the results.”

Only 10 votes out of 16,184 total cast for auditor separated the two Democratic candidates after the hand recount Monday.

State law required a hand recount because of the narrow margin. Thomas edged out Dickhoff 4,518 to 4,508, 27.92 percent to 27.85 percent. The 10-vote margin didn’t change from the pre-recount tally.

MacLean wound up with 7,158 votes — 44.23 percent of the total cast.

Last-minute scramble for votes

After last Thursday’s count, Dickhoff trailed Thomas by 15 votes. The only votes left to count were “cure letter” votes.

As Turnbull described, a cure letter is sent to voters whose ballots were considered invalid because they were not signed or the signature did not match the name or signature on file. Those voters are contacted and given the opportunity to correct those ballots and have their votes counted.

After Thursday’s count, Dickhoff and a team of volunteers had a list of about 100 such voters, scattered across the county from Ocean Shores to Oakville and points in between. The team knocked on doors and used social media to reach out to each and every one of them. One voter was tracked down in Montesano, having just been booked into the Grays Harbor County Jail.

“Some people were very skeptical while others were so grateful,” wrote Dickhoff on her Facebook page Aug. 20. “It is amazing what personal connections can do for the betterment of a democracy.”

At the end of the day, her efforts led to another five votes in her favor, but she still fell 10 short. The general election this year is Tuesday, Nov. 6.