(Vevay, Ind.) - A recount will occur next week to settle, once and for all, a narrow political race in Switzerland County.

In the November 2 election, Republican Gayle Rayles defeated Democrat incumbent Rachel Schuler for Switzerland County Auditor. The difference was just seven votes, 1,530 to 1,523.

Switzerland Circuit Court Judge W. Gregory Coy has scheduled the recount for next Thursday, Dec. 16 in the basement of the courthouse in Vevay. The process is open for public viewing.

Coy ordered a three-member commission to perform the recount – Republican member John Keeton, Democrat Jim Wingate, and Kyle Conrad of GBP Systems, the company that sold voting machines to the county.

While Indiana law requires recounts to be completed by Dec. 20, this recount is expected to take less than a day.