A narrow margin at the polls and rumors potential incidents at two polling places have prompted Jonathan Riedlinger to seek a recount of the Kingfisher County sheriff runoff election.

Riedlinger was defeated by just 27 votes by Aaron Pitts in a Republican primary runoff that saw 2,287 people cast a ballot, a margin of just 1.2%.

“If it were 1,000 votes, it would be a different story, but we’re talking about 27 votes,” Riedlinger told the Times & Free Press on Friday morning.

As of press time, Riedlinger had not filed the official paperwork with the Kingfisher County Election Board.

He had until 5 p.m. Friday to do so.

Riedlinger told the Times & Free Press he had an outof- town appointment early in the day, but would be filing the paperwork upon his return.

Election Board Secretary Shawna Butts said the minimum fee for a recount is $600, but the overall cost will depend on the amount of work involved.

Riedlinger would have the option to seek a recount of all precincts or specific ones.

He told the Times & Free Press he would seek a recount of all precincts.

Riedlinger said his campaign had heard rumors of questionable incidents at two polling sites.

“If the roles were reversed, I would hope my op-ponent would do the same thing,” Riedlinger said. “And this may garner him even more votes and if that happens, I’m fine with that.

“I congratulate him now because at the end of the day, he won, and I will congratulate him again if it all stays the same.

“But there are too many rumors and I want to ensure the integrity of everything involved and I feel this is the best way to do it.”