The results of the 8th Bristol representative race could change this week, as election officials were expected to recount ballots from one of Westport’s five voting precincts Wednesday.

As of Tuesday, Democrat Steven Ouellette still stood as the unofficial winner of the contest, edging runner-up Christopher Thrasher in Westport voting by 4,048 to 3,561, a difference of 487 votes. Overall, voters in the five towns the district covers — all of Westport and parts of Acushnet, Freetown, Fall River and New Bedford — favored Ouellette by a narrower margin of 143 votes: 7,290 for Ouellette, and 7,147 for Thrasher.

But Thrasher’s campaign asked that votes from Westport’s Precinct E, where Ouellette carried the day by 231 votes, be recounted.

In that precinct,  an equipment malfunction caused a slight delay in voting Tuesday, Nov. 5, before election workers replaced a faulty voting machine.

Westport had until the end of the day Wednesday to submit its voting results to the state for certification. Poll workers are expected to work in pairs to recount Precinct E votes. 

The recount is expected to begin at 9 a.m. at Westport Police Department headquarters.