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Dickinson County certifies November results after canvass of 51 provisional ballots
Summary
After reviewing 51 provisional ballots during an Nov. 13 canvass, the Dickinson County Commission accepted 41 provisionals, rejected 10 and voted to certify the county's unofficial November results pending remaining inter-county returns for shared school districts.
The Dickinson County Commission met Nov. 13 to canvass the county's November election returns and review 51 provisional ballots before moving to certify the results.
County Clerk Jennifer Gayton summarized the canvass and provisional review, saying the clerk's office reviewed 51 provisional ballots and recommended that 41 be accepted and 10 rejected. "We held the canvas this morning. It started at 8 a.m., and we reviewed 51 provisionals. Forty-one were accepted and 10 were rejected," Gayton said.
Elections staff explained the common reasons a ballot is provisional — a change-of-address, a voter appearing at the wrong polling location, or failure to provide acceptable identification — and described the standard two-step approach used at the canvas: separate provisionals by reason, determine whether each meets statute-based criteria for being counted, and tally hand-counts and machine runs for the races where voters were eligible. Staff emphasized partial counts when a provisional voter is eligible only for some contests on a given ballot.
After reviewing the provisionals and the clerk's summary report, a commissioner moved to "reverify the reports and certify the election results." The motion and second carried on a voice vote. Commissioners also noted that final official results remain contingent on outstanding returns from neighboring counties that share certain school-district races; the county will update consolidated results when those returns arrive.
The commission recorded the certification on the public record and directed staff to post updated counts once inter-county tallies are complete.
What happens next: The county clerk will post updated results after the remaining counties submit returns for shared school-district contests. Any further challenges or formal recount requests must follow the statutory deadlines and procedures in place for post-election review.
