TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Only 24 votes separate second and third place in the city commission seat three primary, and the race is on course for a recount.<\/p>\n
Leon County Supervisor of Elections Mark Earley said the next few days will determine who advances to face PJ Perez for seat 3 in November.<\/a> A canvassing board is meeting Thursday afternoon to decide which provisional and vote-by-mail ballots count. <\/p>\n \u201cSo right now, I think I understand that the difference is 0.06%. So it\u2019s extremely tight,\u201d Earley said. \u201cWe planned for this. So we\u2019ve got the whole schedule for conducting the recount.\u201d<\/p>\n Voters whose mail-in ballots need fixing, such as missing signatures or an ID issue, have until Friday to cure them, or their vote won\u2019t count. Officials urged that anyone who has been told to \u2018cure\u2019 their ballot contact their office as soon as possible. <\/p>\n Both candidates said they\u2019re feeling positive about their chances of advancing to the general election.<\/p>\n WCTV Election 2026:<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the goal is to make it to the runoff, one vote could get you to the runoff, or a thousand. So we landed where we needed to be, and it feels good to have the trust of the people and to have this momentum moving towards November,\u201d Derzypolski said.<\/p>\n The candidate continued that he\u2019s confident in the vote tallying process at the supervisor of elections office. <\/p>\n \u201cHaving an abundance of respect for the process and the supervisor of elections. Totally at peace that things will be done well. And I want people\u2019s votes to be counted, whatever they were.\u201d<\/p>\n Commission candidate Talethia Edwards did not agree to an interview Wednesday but shared a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cThis race remains extremely close, with just 24 votes separating us in the unofficial results. Provisional ballots are still outstanding, and the official canvassing process is not complete. Every lawful vote deserves to be counted.\u201d<\/p>\n She added that her campaign will participate fully in the canvass and any required recount, and she\u2019ll remain patient and respectful while awaiting official results.<\/p>\n On the other end, PJ Perez said he\u2019s looking forward to meeting with the community as the general election approaches. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m excited for the next couple of months of just getting out and knocking on more doors and meeting more people and weaving myself into people\u2019s families. It\u2019s all just hearing everybody\u2019s stories and seeing how we can be the best service to the community,\u201d Perez said.<\/p>\n Local Democratic Data Consultant Matthew Isbell said November voters can be unpredictable. <\/p>\n \u201cYou absolutely could have a split there. Because we\u2019ve seen it already. The voters in this city are making unique decisions. We\u2019ll see if that holds. It could always change. And we could see a very firm slate in November. But it also is easily, history says that it doesn\u2019t have to be that way,\u201d Isbell said.<\/p>\n First unofficial results are due by noon Friday, which could then officially trigger the recount, a machine recount Saturday, followed by a manual recount Monday if needed.<\/p>\n Officials say we can expect an update by Sunday afternoon, with final results Monday.<\/p>\n To keep up with the latest news as it develops, follow WCTV on Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, Nextdoor<\/a> <\/a>and X<\/a> (Twitter<\/a>).<\/p>\n Have a news tip or see an error? Write to us here<\/a>. Please include the article\u2019s headline in your message.<\/p>\n Be the first to see all the biggest headlines by downloading the WCTV News app. Click here<\/a> to get started.<\/p>\n Copyright 2026 WCTV. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n