Audit uncovers missing ballots

By BRIAN WALKER

Staff Writer

COEUR d’ALENE — An audit Wednesday and Thursday of the absentee and early voting ballots from November’s general election revealed a 50-vote difference from the number certified earlier.

Kootenai County Clerk Jim Brannon, who did not participate in the day-to-day elections operations during the election season because he was a candidate himself, was visibly upset but not surprised at the audit result.

“Fifty votes!” he told The Press after the tally was revealed Thursday night. “You can’t disenfranchise voters — that’s my reaction to that. Not on my watch.”

The total number of early and absentee votes that were certified by Kootenai County commissioners on Nov. 16 was 17,311. The audit revealed there were actually 17,361.

While the differential didn’t change the outcome of any races, Brannon said it’s critical to have an accurate count for voters and to report to the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office.

“People fought and died for the right to vote,” he said.

Brannon declined to cast blame on any employees for the differential, but added the counting machines “worked flawlessly.”

“I want people to know that I didn’t like to do this,” he said. “It’s been a long two days, but it’s been worth it. It doesn’t do any good to say more than that we had 50 more votes counted today and it’s now on the Secretary of State’s website. I found exactly what I expected to find.”

Brannon said he only had the early and absentee votes audited rather than ordering a full-blown recount of all the votes because he suspected the differential would only come with early and absentee votes.

“The in-person and Election Day votes were spot on,” he said.

Tim Hurst, chief deputy of the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office, said he and Brannon were in contact before and during the audit.

“It is my understanding that after the canvas, the County Clerk’s Office discovered a discrepancy between the number of absentee and early ballots received and the report produced by the ballot tabulator,” Hurst wrote in an email to The Press. “Although the difference will not change the outcome of the election, the county clerk is trying to find out what caused the difference so it will not be repeated in the future.”

Hurst defended Brannon’s order for an audit amid mounting suspicions of what triggered the action nearly two months after the vote.

“County clerks in the state take elections very seriously and want very much to make certain the results properly reflect the will of the voters,” Hurst wrote. “A review of the office procedures and of the accuracy of the vote tabulation system is an important part of instilling confidence in the election process.”

The audit raised the eyebrows of political interests, including some who wondered if the action was legal.

However, Hurst said a law dictating when a full recount must be performed after the election certification is done doesn’t apply in this case because it was an audit of partial results, not a recount.

Shem Hanks, chairman of the Kootenai County Democrats, said the matter has been referred to the Idaho Democratic Party to review.

“We thought it was strange that (the vote counting) was happening and just want to make sure it’s above board,” Hanks said.

The audit came two weeks after Carrie Phillips, elections manager, said she was asked to leave the agency effective immediately.

Brannon again declined to comment whether the audit and the decision toward Phillips were related, citing personnel reasons.

Phillips said on Wednesday that she heard about the audit but she didn’t know any of the circumstances behind the action. She also said displeasure with the elections counting process was not a reason she was given the choice of resigning or being fired.

Brannon said a cost for the audit, including having a representative from Election Systems and Software present both days to ensure the ballot tabulators didn’t have mechanical issues, hasn’t been determined. A county attorney was also present during the process along with Brannon and some other workers from the Clerk’s Office.

“We haven’t gotten a bill yet,” Brannon said, adding that the cost will be a public record.

Brannon said he believes that whatever the cost will be, it will be worth having an accurate vote count.

“This is the basis of our Constitution,” he said. “We have to count every vote.”

Brannon said he’ll be considering changes as a result of the audit to ensure accuracy.

“The first change will be making sure there’s an accurate number for the canvas (certification) reported to the board of county commissioners,” he said.

Hurst said an audit of election results after the certification is rare, but not unheard of.