Madison County clerk says canvass matches state records; 115 ballots rejected

Madison County’s election clerk told the board that the county’s primary canvass matched the counts from the voting machines and the Secretary of State’s report, and asked members to sign the county canvas form so she could file it for the state audit.

"The election went very smoothly," the clerk said, adding that she had completed an audit, submitted her audit report form to the Secretary of State and reviewed canvass packets with the board. She said machine counts aligned with absentee ballots and poll books overall.

The clerk described a small number of precinct discrepancies — typically one or two ballots over — and said the most likely cause was voters placing multiple ballots into the voted-ballot box rather than returning unvoted spares to the unvoted box. She gave Virginia City as an example where staff phoned her the night of the election after observing a voter deposit a ballot prematurely.

The clerk said three provisional ballots required signature resolution the day after the election and were added later; she updated the Secretary of State’s online report to reflect those additions. She also reported 115 rejected ballots countywide, which she said did not change the outcome of any races under review.

Turning to precinct operations, the clerk flagged the Big Sky precinct for the board’s attention: about eight voters cast ballots at the polling place despite roughly 450 registered voters in that precinct, and she estimated running that single precinct costs on the order of $500 per election. She characterized the low in-person turnout there as driven largely by absentee voting and said no one from Big Sky attended a poll-worker training she held.

The clerk asked members to sign the canvas form before the filing deadline. "Tomorrow is the last day for the canvas," she said; members confirmed signing would be recorded as public record. A member moved to adjourn and another seconded; the transcript does not capture the roll call or the recorded outcome.

The clerk emphasized the changes she has made to reduce confusion at polling places and said she was pleased with the overall results and reconciliation efforts. The county will retain the signed canvas as public record and submit it to the Secretary of State for the state audit.