Toole County canvasses primary, staff reports audit matched machine tallies despite small Sunburst discrepancy

Toole County election staff presented the canvas of the primary election results and told the board that an audit matched machine tallies across audited precincts, while a small discrepancy in one precinct will be explained to the Secretary of State's Office. The board approved the June 11 minutes by voice vote.

The staff member who led the report said the county ran 10 provisional ballots after 3 p.m. that slightly changed one commissioner contest to 317–304 but did not meet state recount thresholds. "We had 10 provisionals that we ran on Monday after 3:00...it changed the race between commissioner just a little bit, so it turned out to be 317 to 304, which isn't in the recount range," the staff member said.

The presentation included the abstract form filed with the Secretary of State's Office and audit paperwork. Staff said they audited 829 ballots across Shelby and Shelby Rural precincts for three races and that the audit sheets and machine tapes matched for those precincts. "We audited 829 ballots...and those tapes that came out of the machine match the audit," the staff member said.

Staff provided counts and problems encountered: the office accepted 1,283 ballots for counting; 23 absentee ballots were rejected for signature problems or missing birth year; and 10 absentee ballots were voided and reissued. The staff member noted test ballots and a precinct-level reconciliation issue in Sunburst: "Sunburst issued 104 ballots...there was 105 ballots counted," a discrepancy the staff member said they will explain to the Secretary of State's Office, attributing the difference to voters placing unvoted ballots in the wrong box or multiple ballots folded together.

Officials also flagged undervotes in some contests. The staff member highlighted about 60 undervotes in the District 9 state senate race and said undervotes and overvotes affect reconciliation of totals. Turnout for the primary was reported at 49.3%; staff questioned a cited 74% absentee return rate for a precinct and said they would re-check the formulas used to compute percentages.

Staff made audit materials and machine tapes available to board members for review and said there were no machine-counting complications beyond one device that seemed to remain powered on while plugged in. The staff member said the county will submit required forms under Senate Bill 440 as part of the canvas reporting process.

Next steps: the staff will send the abstract and explanatory notes on the Sunburst discrepancy to the Secretary of State's Office; state canvas work continues through the 29th, and board members may review audit paperwork and tapes on request.