The Jefferson County Clerk’s Office discovered a discrepancy between the number of votes reported the night of the April 8 election and those hand-counted on April 10-11 as part of the election verification board process required by state law, said Jeannie Goff, the county clerk.
“During this hand count, a discrepancy was discovered between the manually tallied votes and the unofficial results released on election night. An immediate investigation revealed that one of the transport media drives (TMs) containing in-person absentee votes had not been included in the unofficial totals on election night. This drive accounted for 634 ballots that were omitted from the initial tally. Following the discovery, the totals were added to election night totals,” she said in a written statement.
The results of two races changed significantly when those extra votes were added – one for a seat on the Rock Township Board of Directors and the other for a seat on the city of Scotsdale Board of Trustees.
In one case, Paul Horn, not Rick Lamborn, was determined to be the winner of one of two seats up for election on the Rock Township Board of Directors. The other winner was Lynne Ruzicka, the top vote-getter in the race, as indicated on election night and after the additional votes were included in the tallies. On election night, though, it appeared Lamborn had received the second most votes, but that changed when the other votes were added after the verification, Goff reported.
In the second case involving the city of Scotsdale, Justin Denochick was the top vote-getter, and on election night it appeared Shawn Kadlec had received the second most votes to win the second seat on the board. However, after the election verification process was completed, it turned out Kadlec and Melinda Holahan had tied for the second seat, Goff said.
She said a decision will have to be made about how to determine the winner of the second seat. Candidates could choose to flip a coin, or they could choose to have another election to determine the winner.
Election verification process
Goff said it was unfortunate that the 634 in-person absentee votes were left out of the vote count on election night but emphasized that the election verification board process is in place to catch those kinds of problems.
She said election night results are considered preliminary and unofficial. Then the vote verifications and election certification process follows.
“The period following Election Day is crucial for verifying vote counts, reviewing any irregularities, and including all eligible provisional, military, and absentee ballots,” Goff said. “Election night results are just the first step. Certification ensures every vote is counted correctly and that the final official results truly reflect the will of the voters. Military and overseas ballots, as well as verified provisional ballots, were also included in the final certified totals. No other outcomes were affected by the inclusion of these ballots.”
The election verification board is made up of the county clerk and 26 other members, half Democrats and half Republicans, Goff said.
“The board inspected tabulation equipment, reviewed election records, and conducted a manual hand count of ballots from randomly selected precincts to validate the accuracy of the electronic tabulation,” she said.
Voter turnout
Just 14,770 of Jefferson County’s 162,288 registered voters cast ballots in the April election, for a 9.1 percent voter turnout.
Goff said that’s pretty typical for an April general municipal election, adding that it’s common to have turnouts in the 8-percent range for those types of elections.
She said the turnout in the Arnold area was higher than that in many other parts of the county.
“It was higher in places where there were mayor races or propositions,” she said.
According to County Clerk Department records, some precincts in the Arnold area had turnouts close to and in the 20-percent range.
Mayor races
Both Arnold and Pevely residents voted out their incumbent mayors in the April 8 election.
Arnold Mayor Ron Counts finished fourth in a five-way race, which Ward 2 Councilman Bill Moritz won.
In Pevely, Mayor Stephanie Haas narrowly lost her reelection bid to challenger and Ward 1 Alderman Steve Markus.
Hillsboro Mayor Buddy Russell overwhelmingly defeated his challenger, Dennis Bradley, to retain his seat.
In Arnold, where residents were angry about the now-abandoned Arnold Parkway Road project, they not only voted out Counts, but also they swept out three City Council incumbents – Ward 1 Councilman Jason Fulbright, Ward 3 Councilman Mark Hood and Ward 4 Councilman Butch Cooley. Winners were Troy Blacksher for the Ward 1 council seat, Tim Seidenstricker for the Ward 2 seat, Jessica Bess in Ward 3 and Michael William Rethmeyer for Ward 4.
Ballot measures
Most of the ballot measures fared well last week, with Crystal City School District residents voting to allow the district to continue operating under a four-day school week, and Sunrise School District voters approving a measure that will allow the district to shift 40 cents from its debt service levy to its general operating levy, making it a permanent tax.
In addition, Byrnes Mill residents voted to allow the city to collect its 2.5 percent sales tax on internet purchases, and the Rock Community Fire Protection District saw its $20 million bond issue pass.
Dunklin Fire Protection District voters approved one of the two tax increases the district was seeking. Its request for a tax increase of 25 cents per $100 assessed valuation passed, and revenue will be used to boost the district’s operating funds. However, the district’s request for another increase of 5 cents per $100 for its pension fund failed.
The Cedar Hill Fire Protection District was seeking an $11.6 million bond issue, which would have required a tax increase, and while the measure won more than 55 percent of the vote, it required a 4/7th majority vote, or 57.14 percent, for passage and, thus, failed.
Final, official results for Jefferson County’s April 8 election can be found here.
Results for the Eureka area can be found here.