A fresh batch of ballots released Friday put Fai ahead of Commissioner Pam Treece by 460 votes, up from a 363-vote margin earlier in the week. The additional 1,000 ballots counted favored Fai by 54.6%, continuing a trend that has seen her steadily erase Treece's early Election Day advantage and pull ahead for the first time days ago.

About 8,500 ballots remain to be counted, but roughly 7,000 of those are "challenged" — ballots set aside because of issues such as a missing or mismatched signature. Election officials send letters to affected voters, who have until Nov. 24 to resolve the problem so their ballots can be tallied.

Treece has not conceded, saying in a statement that "thousands of uncounted ballots" remain.

"What is important to me is that we follow the tenets of democracy and ensure that every vote is counted and every voice is heard," she said.

Fai could not be reached for comment.

Even after a winner is certified, state law requires a recount if the gap between the top two candidates is less than 0.2% of the total votes cast for them. In this contest, that threshold is expected to be around 450 votes. If triggered, the recount would be conducted by hand by a counting board made up of at least two county electors.

The chair's position pays $149,777 a year.

The campaign has been roiled by controversy. In September, then-Chair Kathryn Harrington made an obscene gesture at Fai during a public meeting, reigniting concerns about county workplace culture and thrusting the issue into the race. Harrington resigned two weeks later. Treece had accepted a $10,000 donation and an endorsement from Harrington, but returned the money and removed the endorsement from her campaign website after the incident.

Late last month, the contest drew more attention after Fai appeared at a Minnesota event for immigrants and refugees. A right-wing account on X shared video of the appearance showing her in front of an upside-down American flag, prompting attacks. Some of Fai's supporters responded by falsely claiming the video was a deepfake.

Fai, 48, was first elected to the commission in 2020, becoming the first Black and first Muslim board member. An immigrant from Somalia with a long career in public health, including at Multnomah County, she has said her priorities include removing barriers for small businesses, spurring affordable housing construction and responding "swiftly to federal overreach."

Treece, 75, was elected in 2018 as the first candidate in 31 years to unseat an incumbent commissioner. She campaigned on affordable housing, growing good-paying jobs and keeping taxes and fees "in check," citing decades of private and public sector experience, including more than 20 years at PacifiCorp.

The winner will join Commissioner Jason Snider and Commissioners-elect Kipperlyn Sinclair and Felicita Monteblanco on the board in January. Sinclair, a Hillsboro city councilor, defeated former Hillsboro Mayor Steve Callaway to represent District 4. If Fai wins the chair's seat, her commissioner position will become open; Monteblanco, who won her seat in May, will succeed Treece.