Reporting by staff writer Steve Brandt:

The process of sorting and counting ballots from three Minneapolis precincts began this morning at the city's election warehouse in Northeast.

Election workers will first try to run the ballots through the tabulators one more time, a process that failed on Election Day possibly because of a printing error.

But if a hand count of the 5,500 ballots is necessary, that isn't likely to be finished Wednesday, said Hennepin County Auditor Mark Chapin.

The outcome of the ballot counting is closely watched because it will determine the fate of the hotly contested District 4 school board race, in which Josh Reimnitz currently holds a slim lead over Patty Wycoff. The affected precincts are all in Ward 10:

1 – Jefferson Community School, 1200 26th St W
2 – Ballentine VFW Post, 2916 Lyndale Ave S
8 – Whittier International School, 315 26th St W