Lincoln County canvass confirms 6,560 counted ballots; new SB 440 reporting added to packet

The Lincoln County canvass of the recent primary election was held in public at 1:30 p.m.; county elections staff reported 14,840 registered voters and 6,560 ballots accepted for counting and told commissioners the packet includes tabulator reports, hand counts, the statewide abstract and a new Senate Bill 440 spreadsheet.

The county’s Elections Administrator told the board that provisional ballots accepted after review totaled 39 (initially recorded as 42), undeliverable ballots numbered 249, and 92 absentee or provisional ballots were rejected for reasons such as missing signatures or incorrect birth-year information. She said the county’s system helped detect a case in which a voter reported discarding her ballot and a mismatched signature suggested the envelope had been submitted by someone else.

The new SB 440 spreadsheet is a state reporting requirement the county must now include with election results and post on the county website, the Elections Administrator said, and she walked commissioners through precinct-level reconciliations to show that abstract totals on the Secretary of State’s site matched the tabulator and hand counts in multiple spot checks. She cited one audit-required precinct (Troy South) where an audit count produced a one-vote difference; state law requires the audit result to become the official tally, and the one-vote change did not affect any outcome.

Commissioners asked about tabulation practices after staff reported a roller problem that caused the tabulator to grab extra ballots on election day; ES&S technicians adjusted the machine. County staff also said that some judges combined early/absentee and polling ballots during early pickup, which removed the ability to cleanly separate absentee from polling-place ballots later. To reduce future confusion, staff said they have developed a standard tabulation sheet for judges to use going forward.

Legal citations referenced during the canvas included procedures for ballot inspection and recount under state code (see authorities). The Elections Administrator said the county will send the required certified materials to the state and retain a copy for local records; commissioners recessed the canvass with no motion to request a county-level recount because no discrepancy large enough to change a race outcome was identified.

What happens next: county staff will transmit the certified canvass packet to the state and post the SB 440 spreadsheet with the election results on the county website. If a voter or official believes a discrepancy requires further action, state statute and county procedures describe how to request an investigation or recount.