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Unofficial runoff totals show about 4.3% turnout; election staff report multiple scanner failures at busy Smyrna precincts
Summary
Speaker 2 (election staff) reported unofficial totals for the special runoff: 1,889 absentee ballots and a grand unofficial total of 3,780 (roughly 4.3% turnout of 87,261 registered voters). Staff also described repeated scanner failures at Smyrna precincts; the board recessed while results were pending.
Speaker 2, an elections staff member, reported unofficial election-night numbers and described equipment problems that slowed reporting.
"For absentee or advance in person, we ended up with 1,864," Speaker 2 said, adding that 25 absentee-by-mail ballots were accepted and one provisional ballot had not been returned by the 7 p.m. deadline. "So that's a total of 25, putting us at a grand total for absentee at 1,889." Speaker 2 gave an unofficial grand total of 3,780 ballots, which they said is roughly a 4.3% turnout of 87,261 registered voters. "For comparison," Speaker 2 added, the Nov. 18 total was 3,814.
Speaker 2 reported that Smyrna 6A (American Legion) and Smyrna 4A (Little Cottage) were among the busiest locations and described repeated scanner problems at one site. "We had to replace the scanner, I think, 4 times," Speaker 2 said, describing a sequence in which staff swapped devices and ultimately retrieved a known-working unit from a nearby duplex. At one occurrence Speaker 2 said about 120 ballots were involved and that managers reconciled the counts against scanner totals.
The staff walked the board through reconciliation procedures for replaced scanners and memory cards, noting that opening and closing tapes plus status tapes and memory-card tallies should add up to the final results. Regarding repairs, Speaker 2 said scanners that cannot be fixed on-site are shipped for service; the staff mentioned shipping units to Texas for repair when necessary.
Board members asked clarifying questions about precinct counts and testing. Speaker 3 asked whether a scanner that stopped working is tested or repaired before being redeployed; Speaker 2 said failed units are evaluated, repaired on-site if possible, or collected and shipped for service depending on the issue.
Before recessing to await final results, the body approved the evening agenda by voice vote (announced as passing 5 to 0). Later, Speaker 1 moved that the meeting recess until election results were complete; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The meeting was recessed at 7:10 p.m.
The results reported by Speaker 2 were explicitly labeled "unofficial"; the board recessed and will reconvene when certified or as staff updates the membership.
