In eastern Idaho’s Bannock County, officials find 333 uncounted ballots week after election

A week after the midterm election, Idaho election officials reported more than 300 ballots went uncounted on election night in an eastern Idaho county.

The Office of the Idaho Secretary of State on Tuesday afternoon announced that 333 uncounted ballots had been identified during a post-election review in one precinct in Bannock County. State election officials said no outcomes changed once the ballots had been counted. The votes will be added to the state’s election results website Tuesday, officials added.

Election recount planned in North Idaho county that didn’t report 2,300 ballots

“Once again, this demonstrates the importance of the reconciliation process we use to verify election results following every election,” Secretary of State Phil McGrane, a Republican who was reelected as the state’s top election official, said in a written statement. “While I am thankful that these ballots were identified, we will be working to determine why these ballots were not processed on election night and working with counties across the state to reinforce our election processes.”

This is at least the second Idaho county to report it left some ballots unreported in election results after last week’s election. State election officials on Tuesday were overseeing a recount of ballots in North Idaho’s Latah County, after the county reported more than 2,300 ballots went unreported in election results. 

All of the uncounted ballots in Bannock County came from the same precinct, named Pocatello 2, state officials said. The county has 57 precincts.

The closest race for any races that precinct was voting in, state officials say, is for county coroner, where Republican Torey Danner led independent candidate Wilson Simmons by 4,857 votes. 

The precinct also voted in Legislative District 29, where Democrats swept all three seats. But in two of those races, Democrats had led by around 2,000 votes over Republicans, according to election results. The Idaho Office of Secretary of State soon corrected its announcement about the uncounted ballots.

Bannock County Clerk Jason Dixon, the local election official, said in a statement that “this should not have happened.”

“We take pride in Bannock County in the work that goes into running our elections,” Dixon said. “We are working closely with the Secretary of State’s office to ensure full transparency and to determine if additional steps can be taken to ensure this does not happen. I want Bannock County voters to know your votes will count.”

The Idaho State Board of Canvassers, which certifies the state’s election results, is set to meet at 1 p.m. Friday to select counties and precincts that will undergo audits of election results, including hand counts and reviews of reported results.

“We have numerous safeguards in place to verify the accuracy of Idaho’s elections,” McGrane said. “My main focus throughout all of this is to ensure that every single vote is counted and that Idahoans have confidence that their voice is heard.”

The Bannock County Board of Commissioners is set to meet 9 a.m. Thursday to recanvass the election results, including the added ballots. 

The results from last week’s election remain unofficial until they are certified by the State Board of Canvassers, which is scheduled to meet Nov. 24.