DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate ordered a hand-count audit of unofficial election results in one Jasper County precinct following an apparent discrepancy in the numbers. An investigation by the Secretary of State and County Auditor Dennis Parrott determined that a human data entry error in the Jasper County Auditor’s Office resulted in some results being over-reported in the Clear Creek-Poweshiek precinct.
The contest primarily impacted by the error was the Second Congressional District race. Late on election night Tuesday, Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks held a 282 vote lead over Democrat Rita Hart. However, now, the Secretary of State’s website now show Hart leading, 196,603 to 196,441.
Due to the discrepancy, Secretary Pate ordered a hand-count audit of the precinct in question and requested a countywide administrative recount of all results.
“The integrity of Iowa’s elections is my top priority as State Commissioner of Elections,” Secretary Pate said. “We have protections in place in Iowa to ensure the integrity of the vote. All elections are conducted on paper ballots. There is a paper trail that allows us to go back and look at all the results if there is a discrepancy. We conduct post-election audits. The system worked and we will make sure all the numbers are accurate.”
Auditor Parrott agrees with Secretary Pate’s request for a countywide recount.
“Obviously on election night the Jasper County Auditor’s Office made an election results reporting error. It has since been corrected,” Auditor Parrott said. “I credit the system of checks and balances that Iowa has that gives auditors time before the county supervisors canvass the vote to catch errors and issues that may have happened on Election Day.”
The hand-count audit of the precinct in question and countywide administrative recount will begin immediately and be completed ahead of the Jasper County canvass of votes on Tuesday afternoon.
Election night results are always unofficial. The numbers are not finalized until after counties conduct post-election audits and canvasses, and the numbers are certified on a statewide basis at the end of November. Every county is conducting post-election audits in randomly selected precincts to help ensure the integrity of the vote.
You can view the unofficial results for every county at this link.
