Over 100 votes for property assessor were lost during last week’s election. However, it was voter error that led to the wasted votes, not any malfunctioning voting machines.
A preliminary figure of 116 uncountable votes has been registered by election administrator Donna Smith after canvassing write-in ballots cast as part of the Republican Primary.
“This was not enough to change the outcome of the election for property assessor but under different circumstances it could have changed an election,” Smith said of the 116 votes which will not be counted.
At issue are 116 write-in votes which were cast by people who voted in the Republican Primary. The problem was the property assessor race was being contested in the Democratic Primary, therefore a person who was voting in the Republican Presidential Primary could not vote for property assessor. The property assessor race was not on the Republican ballot and could not be found there by Republican Primary voters.
At least 116 people tried to write-in various candidates hoping, or assuming, they would be counted. However, federal and state election law forbids such cross-voting, meaning a person must decide to vote in either the Republican or Democratic primary. They cannot vote in both.
In the case of those 116 voters, their votes in the presidential primary and in the wheel tax referendum were counted.
Smith said she can see who the people voted for, but given state restrictions, she cannot count the votes for property assessor. The two most prevalent areas for the attempted cross voting were the TSU Nursery Research Station precinct with 20, and Eastside precinct with 19.
Smith hopes such an incident will not repeat itself in future elections, especially in a case where 116 votes could swing the election. Smith said it is important voters know they cannot cross vote in two primaries.
The misunderstanding comes in an election where just one person did not present proper photo ID locally at the polls as is required by a new state law. That vote did not get counted since the voter did not return within 48 hours of casting a provisional ballot with proper photo ID.