(ABC 6 News) — A recount in the race for the third district Cerro Gordo County Supervisor’s seat has declared a victor.

Auditor Adam Wedmore said a recount board certified Carl Ginapp as the winner of the race, defeating opponent Lori Meacham-Ginapp (the two are distant cousins by marriage) by a margin of just three votes.

Unofficial results called the race for Meacham-Ginapp on Election Night, but Wedmore said provisional ballots later tipped the race in Carl Ginapp’s favor.

“We always encourage the public to pay attention to the results on election night, but with the caveat that those results are unofficial, and they could change for a variety of reasons.”

A three-member recount board, consisting of one representative chosen from each campaign and a neutral third member, certified Carl Ginapp as the winner Friday, showing he earned 3108 votes to Meacham-Ginapp’s 3105.

“It was right down to the wire,” Carl Ginapp said. “I would like to thank my opponent for her two years of service as a supervisor, and I’m really looking forward to starting in January.”

Meacham-Ginapp first won election to the seat which covers the northern section of Mason City and the eastern portions of the county in 2022, in a similarly close race.

“Every vote counts,” she said. “Especially in local races. I have full faith in our electoral system, and our auditor along with the workers, our precinct workers, they all did a great job. And until December 31, I’m going to continue working for my district and continue doing the best job, the job that I was elected to do two years ago.”

The Cerro Gordo Board of Supervisors will hold a special meeting Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. for the purpose of certifying the canvas of the election, and Carl Ginapp will be sworn in to a four-year term on January 1, 2025.