Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Elections topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
St. Joseph County Election Board certifies Nov. 5 results after provisional-ballot review
Summary
After reviewing about 515 provisional ballots and resolving a 58-ballot check‑in discrepancy, the St. Joseph County Election Board voted to certify the Nov. 5, 2024 election. Staff said most provisional issues were attributable to election‑worker errors covered by a new Indiana law and were resolved case by case.
The St. Joseph County Election Board voted Nov. 15 to certify the results of the Nov. 5, 2024 election after completing a review of provisional and absentee ballots.
An election staff member reported an overall check‑in vs. ballots‑cast discrepancy of 58 and said the county had accounted for those differences. "We feel confident enough that, everything's good in regards to that," the staff member said during the meeting. The same staffer told the board the county recorded about 53,004 election‑day voters and about 49,004 early‑voting ballots.
Board members discussed roughly 515 provisional ballots in total, with about 300 remaining to be reviewed when the session began. Under a recently changed provision of Indiana law cited during the meeting, the county may approve counting provisional ballots when an error is attributable to an election worker rather than the voter. An Election Division contact told the board that "if it's just missing signatures and things like that, just errors made by an election worker, the vote can still count" provided the board sees no indication of fraud.
Board members identified a small number of provisional ballots — about 13 in the packet discussed — where the voter otherwise met requirements but an inspector or worker omitted a required signature. The board applied the discretionary standard described by the Indiana official and accepted those ballots where appropriate.
After the review, a board member moved to certify the election; the motion was seconded and the board voted in favor. The chair then signed the certification paperwork as directed by the board.
The staff presenter highlighted a decline in the level of check‑in/ballots‑cast discrepancies across recent cycles, noting 172 in 2016, 144 in 2020 and 58 in 2024, and credited site layout, added early‑voting capacity and on‑site staffing for improved processes. The board also noted a handful of federal/mail ballots that had arrived with timely postmarks and were processed according to usual procedures.
The meeting closed after a public‑comment period in which residents and inspectors raised operational concerns (see separate article). The board adjourned at the end of the session.
