Recount set for Friday in Minneapolis City Council Second Ward race

Minneapolis officials will begin a recount Friday morning in a City Council race decided by just 19 votes.

At 9 a.m., election workers will begin inspecting ballots cast in the contest to represent the Second Ward on the city's east side, which includes the Cedar-Riverside and University of Minnesota neighborhoods.

Democratic Socialist Robin Wonsley Worlobah won the race with a final-round tally of 4,056 votes, defeating DFL candidate Yusra Arab, who received 4,037. Incumbent Cam Gordon, who has represented the area since 2006, was eliminated in the second-to-last round.

Arab requested the recount Monday after making an announcement last week on Twitter. City officials said this is the first time they will conduct a full recount in a race decided by ranked-choice voting.

The process will be open to the public at the Elections & Voter Services building, 980 E. Hennepin Av. The top two candidates can invite observers, who will be allowed to challenge whether a ballot should be counted or disqualified based on an error, such as a stray mark. Each challenged ballot goes to the City Council, which acts as the canvassing board that will decide whether to count that vote.