Change in Jasper County election results shifts lead in District 2
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate on Friday said a discrepancy was discovered in election results in a Jasper County precinct where there were over-reported totals that affected candidates in both parties. Totals have since been adjusted to reflect a correction in the discrepancy.
Pate ordered a hand-count audit of those unofficial election results. 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 integrity of Iowa’s elections is my top priority as State Commissioner of Elections,” 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.”
Pate ordered a hand-count audit of the precinct in question and requested a countywide administrative recount of all results.
The totals in the District 2 race between Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Democrat Rita Hart changed due to the adjustment made in Jasper County, according to Pate.
Miller-Meeks was leading Democrat Rita Hart by just 282 votes. The secretary of state’s website now shows Miller-Meeks’ total has gone down by 328 votes, and Hart’s has increased by 166. The total now stands at 196,603 for Hart and 196,441 for Miller-Meeks, a difference of 162.
Pate stressed that election results are not official until the end of the month. He said 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.
Jasper County Auditor Dennis Parrott said the discrepancy was likely due to human error. He said the wrong results were reported on Election Day.
“Obviously on election night the Jasper County Auditor’s Office made an election results reporting error. It has since been corrected,” 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.”
KCCI’s Beau Bowman was at the news conference and will have new information later today on the KCCI Breaking News and Weather App and KCCI 8 News.