Lincoln County canvass: 45% turnout; close Rexford race audited and write‑in name confusion noted

Lincoln County election staff told the county board during Thursday’s canvass review that they sent 2,765 ballots and received 1,246 back, a turnout the department put at about 45%.

“ We did send out 2,765 ballots, and we received in 1,246,” the election department representative said while walking the board through the canvass packet, which the staff later posted on the county’s website. The representative also reported 121 rejected ballots, 14 voided and 127 undeliverable ballots.

Staff reviewed precinct-level tallies and the handling of provisional ballots, saying they counted 12 provisionals in the packet and reconciled them into final totals. The representative described procedures for replacement ballots and chain-of-custody steps for hand-count judges, noting time-stamped copies and signed judge paperwork that reconcile across packet versions.

The canvass packet highlighted a close mayoral race in Rexford. Under recent state canvass rules, races within one quarter of 1% may trigger a recount or audit. The election department representative said staff performed an internal audit for Rexford “to ensure there was nothing that we could do on our end” and that the audit matched posted totals.

“ Not only did the tally count on election night come out correct that we put on our site, but during the audit check, it also came out 100%,” the representative said, summarizing the audit results.

Officials also described an instance in which write-in votes were recorded under variants of a single name. Staff said a candidate filed as “Katie C. Morgan” but votes appeared in the packet under several spellings and aliases, and in at least one time-stamped return the back sheet did not list the alias, leaving some votes recorded in different categories. The representative said they had contacted the candidate to confirm the preferred alias but that some ballots were recorded under alternate spellings.

The packet also referenced two recent state measures affecting canvass practice. Staff cited Senate Bill 57’s recount trigger and Senate Bill 58’s investigatory language that allows an election administrator to conduct an investigation, which may include recounting ballots. The representative said the county has worked with the secretary of state’s office and with attorneys to interpret changes, including an amendment allowing the use of a year-of-birth stamp on secrecy envelopes to reduce costs.

Staff said they posted results on the county’s new .gov website and on a Facebook account to increase transparency and reach voters; candidates and community pages reposted the official release. The election department described ongoing legislative changes that increase administrative workload, including provisions that require weekend openings for federal elections and updates to Title 13 guidance.

Board members thanked staff for the canvass review, confirmed sign-off and stamping of the documents, and adjourned the meeting. There were no formal motions or votes recorded in the transcript of the canvass presentation.