Minneapolis Ward 2 candidate Yusra Arab announced Friday that she requested a recount after losing to Robin Wonsley Worlobah by 19 votes. 

City officials announced Wonsley Worlobah as the winner after two rounds of tabulation on Nov. 3. Incumbent Cam Gordon was eliminated in the second round. 

Arab said on Twitter that she is requesting a recount because of how close the final vote totals were. 

During the recount process, election officials individually review each ballot. A small number of ballots are marked so they can not be read by the machine that tallies votes. Eligible ballots are sorted into two categories, one for the candidate who requested a recount and one for other candidates or ballots where the voter’s intention cannot be determined. Once the ballots are sorted, they are counted in stacks of 25 by election officials until the winner for the race can be announced. 

This process is open to the public and the candidate, and candidates are allowed to have a representative present while ballots are being counted. Only election officials are permitted to touch the ballots.

The candidate or representative of the candidate is allowed to challenge the election officials’ decision on the ballots. This can be done if the candidate or representative disagrees with the election officials ruling on the voter’s intention. The recount official will decide if the challenge is valid, and if it is deemed as valid, the ballot is marked as challenged and is sent to the Canvassing Board for approval and decision.