Close election triggers recount for Colorado Springs School District 11 race

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The El Paso County Clerk and Recorder's Office certified election results from earlier this month, but will have a recount for a Colorado Springs School District 11 race. 

According to El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Steve Schleiker, the election was signed off on last week, but D11 has several candidates within the mandatory recount percentage of half a percent. 

The D11 school board race this year is hotly contested, after the board ended its master agreement with the local teachers union last December. Tension between the school board and the union culminated in a teachers' strike in October.

Ruehl has already won one of the three seats up for grabs, along with union-backed LeAnn Baca Bartlett.

Another union-backed candidate, Charles Johnson, currently holds the final seat, but is closely trailed by Michael Carsten-- who was also running on the "Champions for D11" ticket-- and opponent Jeremiah Johnson, triggering the recount.

Bipartisan judges have already come in this week to start some of the initial work. But with the Thanksgiving holiday coming up, the work isn't really getting underway until this coming Monday, with a Friday deadline.

The office is issuing an open invitation to anyone who wants to watch the recount process, as they recount every single ballot cast-- not just the school district ballots.