Alpine released a corrected ballot tabulation around noon on Wednesday after noticing that human error had led to reporting incorrect mayoral race results.

"I made the error," said city recorder Janis Williams, noting the council race was not affected.

It is possible, though not probable, that the new tally could swing the result of the mayoral race, which now shows incumbent Mayor Hunt Willoughby as the winner. One hundred votes had been reported to separate Councilwoman Kim Bryant from Willoughby, but with Wednesday's discovery of human error, that narrowed. A mere 44 votes is all that separates the race now, and there are 70 absentee ballots that have yet to be counted.

Counting judges on Tuesday gave Williams a ballot count that did not follow the order of the ballot, as the others had. The names of the two mayoral candidates had inadvertently been flipped. The tally was not finished until midnight, and Williams said she did not notice the error until Wednesday.

"I saw that this morning when my eyes were a little farther open," said Williams on Wednesday.

It is unlikely that all 70 absentee ballots will be returned for counting, and it may be unlikely that the tally of those votes could swing the election. To be eligible for counting, ballots must have been postmarked by midnight Tuesday. They cannot be hand-delivered to the city by residents at this point, she said.

Willoughby said he and Bryant have spoken.

"She didn't mention anything about a recount, so as far as I've heard, I think we are where we are," he said.

The count will change "as the absentee ballots trickle in" but Willoughby said the outcome is unlikely to be affected.

Bryant did not immediately return calls for comment.