Unalaska, AK – The results of this month's mayoral election are unchanged after a recount by local elections officials this morning.

The second tally of the ballots cast on October 2 turned up the same results as the first, with incumbent Shirley Marquardt edging out challenger Shannon Morrison 283 to 278, and Katherine McGlashan running third with 138 votes.

The recount was announced yesterday, and City Clerk Debra Mack said it was done preemptively.

"We had received knowledge that there's a group of electors who may request a recount tonight at the council meeting," she said. "We chose to go ahead today with the recount, instead of having it have to be asked for tonight."

In a special meeting of the Unalaska City Council this evening, the council is expected to certify the results of the October 2 election. That certification was delayed following a challenge filed a week ago by City Council candidate Randall Baker, alleging that a large number of seasonal workers who voted in the election were not technically residents of Unalaska.

An investigation into those allegations was conducted by Mack, City Attorney Brooks Chandler and City Manager Chris Hladick. They concluded on Friday afternoon that there was no evidence of misconduct.

Those findings are reiterated in their official report on the investigation, released this morning. In its conclusions, the report puts forward a broad interpretation of what it means to be a resident. That interpretation includes seasonal workers, even if they have a home in another city or state, as long as they aren't registered to vote there.

In general, the report is highly critical of Baker's challenge, arguing that some aspects of the complaint are "ridiculous," that it was made at the wrong time, and that enforcing Baker's definition of voter eligibility would verge on racial discrimination. Although he didn't say so in his formal letter to the city, Baker later made clear that his allegations were directed at employees of Unalaska's seafood processing plants, most of whom are Asian, Hispanic or black. The investigation report argues that "The narrow interpretation of the rules for voter residence urged by the challenger, when applied in this community, has a disproportionate impact on ethnic minorities. This raises issues under the federal Voting Rights Act."

The report is available on the city's website.

After the investigation concluded on Friday, Baker made clear that he was unhappy with the results.

"They didn't check to see if these guys were really residents of Alaska," he said. "They just said that if you'd been doing things wrong for years and years, it must be right today. They didn't look to see if they had an Alaska driver's license, which is an easy thing to figure out, they didn't look to see if they had a residence down south, which is an easy thing to figure out."

Baker says he will likely pursue his case further. The next step would be to file suit in superior court, something that must happen within 10 days of the investigation's conclusion.

Meanwhile, the election results are expected to be certified at tonight's council meeting, and a runoff election for City Council Seat D, between Baker and David Gregory, will be scheduled for November 5.