Carver County reviews absentee ballot process after vendor reporting error and strained staff workload

Carver County election officials summarized changes in absentee voting, a vendor programming error that affected precinct reporting, and staffing strains at a public work session where residents pressed for tighter chain-of-custody and clearer party-balance procedures.

The county’s election administrator, Kendra (Elections Administrator), told the board that turnout in recent general elections remains high and that absentee voting methods have shifted since 2018, in part because of changes to state law enabling “direct voting” — voters depositing absentee ballots directly into tabulators during an extended early period. "When we have a successful election in Carver County, it's not a Carver County election office success. It's a Carver County success," Kendra said, describing the county's testing and post‑election review processes.

The board heard that Election Day ballots totaled about 69,565 in the most recent general election and that ballots deposited into tabulators during the early/absentee period rose substantially (the presentation noted 15,351 for the most recent contest). County…