No major errors found in primary canvass

By Justin Post - 06/12/2008

Two minor errors discovered during the canvass of the June 3 primary won’t impact the outcome of any races, said Clerk and Recorder Mary McMahon.

Mistakes included ballots for Precinct 13N erroneously including the race for District 12 commissioner.

A ballot tabulation machine, meanwhile, was not reset or “zeroed out” at one point during the count from the outlying precincts of Rocker, Ramsay, Melrose and Divide, McMahon said.

A four-member canvass board reviewed the votes from Precinct 13N and recalculated the outcome, which found no change in the final results as originally reported, with David Palmer and Dan Dolan still advancing to the November general election.

The number of votes for each candidate dropped slightly during the canvass.

After adjusting the vote counts, McMahon reported a 67 percent voter turnout, down from the 72 percent originally projected.

She said 12,601 of the 18,710 registered voters cast a ballot this election, which remains among the highest primary voter turnout in recent memory.

Of those votes, 1,977 people cast a Republican ballot, or 15.69 percent, while 10,624 people cast a Democratic ballot, or 84.31 percent.

While McMahon said she is pleased with the high voter turnout, she told commissioners Wednesday evening that it also impacts her budget.

It cost $3.80 per ballot and McMahon said costs are steadily increasing, in part because of federal and state voting mandates.

She warned city leaders Wednesday that “major increases” are planned for her budget next year to pay for the November general election, but did not offer specifics about the costs.

Reporter Justin Post may be reached via e-mail at justin.post@lee.net.