CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – It’s been 50 hours since the polls closed, but the race for Iowa’s First Congressional District has yet to be called.

Incumbent Republican Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks has declared victory with a lead of almost 800 votes over her rival Chistina Bohannan. Bohannan has not conceded the race. The votes currently posted are technically unofficial results. After the polls closed on Tuesday, the process began to ensure all votes were counted before the election results were certified.

“We won this district for the third time,” Miller-Meeks said.

The congresswoman has been declaring victory in her race for the 1st Congressional District since the early hours of Wednesday morning and before Washington County vote totals were released later in the day.

“It’s as expected, we thought we would do well in Washington County,” Miller-Meeks said.

Later Wednesday, her opponent, Democrat Christiana Bohannan, published a social media post saying, “I am very, very proud of the work we have done in this district. This race is still too close to call and we expect more ballots to arrive in the coming days. We will ensure that each and every legal vote is counted. Thank you to everyone who has brought us to this point, it is an honor for me to be in this with you.”

He has not made any other comments about the race.

“Those candidates are looking and asking questions about UOCOVA ballots that are pending, and they still have a chance of being counted,” said Jones County Auditor Whiteny Hein. They also ask about provisional ballots.”

Hein said UOCAVA votes, those cast by military members and U.S. citizens living abroad, are still coming in and must be counted. It will not be until Wednesday of next week when the votes in the county will be certified and the election results will be considered “official.”

“The board of supervisors reviews all the election results and calls out the results of each race and then approves the canvas, which means they are finalizing the results for Election Day,” he said.

While it is unclear whether a candidate will request a recount, Hein said often a request will not be made until after the count and candidates can choose which counties they want to count.

“Recount requests are made at the county level, so they would have to request recounts in the counties of their choosing,” Hein said.

The official counting of votes normally occurs on the Tuesday after Election Day, but because of the federal holiday on Monday, Hein said the official certification will not occur until Wednesday.

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