About 300 ballots in Elmore County were not counted in the results of the Nov. 4 election.
The Elmore County clerk notified the Secretary of State’s office of the discrepancy last Friday, kicking off an investigation into what happened.
Secretary of State Phil McGrane said there is no indication of foul play, but called the situation very concerning.
“We're looking at potentially 10% of the ballots cast in this election at this point, not having been tabulated,” he said, adding there have been instances where ballots were tabulated after Election Day.
“But nothing anywhere near to this scale,” he said.
On Tuesday, McGrane’s office sent a team to Elmore County to review their process. He said the county used new business processes and equipment, but it’s unclear where things went wrong. Discrepancies were found in several precincts.
“[It] should have been identified prior to the results being canvased,” McGrane said. “That's one of the things that our team is looking at is just trying to evaluate where did things go wrong in the process? And I can say at this point, I don't have enough information to really confirm one thing or another.”
The uncounted ballots could affect close races, for instance, the Mountain Home School District Levy and Mountain Home City Council races, determined by less than 30-vote margins.
“It is possible that an outcome can change as the result of a recount,” he said. "There's a statutory process to provide all the parties involved, especially the candidates, any recourse, including going to district court if deemed appropriate.”
McGrane said his team is working with the county clerk, prosecutor and sheriff’s offices to review all ballots and related election materials.
“Whether it's going through by hand or some other means, we will make sure that by the end, we are able to reconcile both the number of voters with the number of ballots cast and ensure that every vote is counted,” he added.
