Election 2026 | Escambia County Commission
Machine recount matches the original tally exactly. Manual review of over/under votes shifts the margin by five, leaving Joe Vinson ahead of Commissioner Ashlee Hofberger by 14 votes.
At 3:02 a.m. this morning, Supervisor of Elections Robert Bender texted that the manual and machine recounts for the District 4 Escambia County Commission race had been completed.
- The manual recount revealed seven over/under votes, which were assigned to candidates—six to incumbent Commissioner Ashlee Hofberger and one to NPA challenger Joe Vinson. Vinson’s lead has shrunk to 14 votes.
Final recount totals:
- Joe Vinson: 13,088
- Ashlee Hofberger: 13,074
After the machine and manual recounts, Vinson leads Hofberger by 14 votes.
On the scene: Inweekly had C. Scott Satterwhite at the recount on Saturday. Here are his observations.
The District 4 recount drew a small crowd of observers to the Supervisor of Elections annex on Navy Boulevard, where they monitored election workers on this closely watched race. Observers joined Supervisor Robert Bender, election staff, lawyers, and representatives of the two candidates as ballots were recounted and examined throughout the day.
Vinson, a local historian, was the only candidate present.
“It’s a little surreal, but it’s exciting to see this aspect of democracy in action.” Joe Vinson, on watching the recount of his own election results
The purpose: Saturday’s recount was meant to verify the current results and let both sides inspect ballots with discrepancies to determine voter intent. The ballots counted came from three categories: early votes, Election Day votes, and mail-in ballots.
The process: Bender started promptly at 9:30 a.m. by explaining the recount process to the audience. After a test of the voting machines, clerks began recounting. Several times, Bender stopped by the observation room to ask whether anyone had questions.
Praise for Bender From Both Sides
- Vinson: “Supervisor Bender has been a model of professionalism and has kept both campaigns well informed about the status of the process.”
- Dennis Green, attorney for Hofberger: Bender’s handling of the recount gave him “a lot more faith in the process.” Green said it was his first recount and added, “I’m really impressed with Escambia County and Supervisor of Elections Bender. It has been very professional.”
- State Rep. Alex Andrade, official observer: Also a first-time recount participant, he called Bender’s handling “textbook” and said, “Robert Bender was built for this job. Exactly by the book.”
“I believe our state is the leader in voter integrity. So far, it’s been a pretty fair process.” Dennis Green, attorney for Hofberger
What’s Next
Sixty-three mail-in ballots remain outstanding, many from military and overseas voters. Bender told of one ballot stuck in customs. “We can’t track airmail,” he said. His office eventually located it with help from Congress and got it to his office.
- During election cycles, Bender’s office typically receives two to three ballots a day before the cutoff, and it is hard to know which voters will return theirs in time.