Secretary of State orders audit of Lucas County precinct due to error, requests countywide recount

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate says at least 35,000 felons will be able to vote in next...
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate says at least 35,000 felons will be able to vote in next month’s election. However, some felons say the process to get registered is still confusing.(KCRG)
Published: Nov. 10, 2020 at 12:19 PM CST
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LUCAS COUNTY, Iowa (KCRG) - Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate announced on Tuesday he has ordered an audit of the unofficial election results in one Lucas County precinct, and a countywide recount of all results.

This comes after the Lucas County Auditor’s office discovered an error in the unofficial reporting of results.

The auditor’s office said the Russell precinct’s totals were not included in the results. Instead, test data was still in the system rather than election night results.

Secretary of State Paul Pate said in a news release the error has been corrected and the new totals have been added to the statewide unofficial results.

Pate said the Second Congressional District race was the contest that was primarily impacted by the error.

In light of this, Pate ordered an audit of the precinct and requested a countywide recount of all results.

“The integrity of Iowa’s elections is my top priority and we are taking all the necessary steps to ensure the vote count is accurate,” Secretary Pate said. “Following last week’s data entry error in Jasper County, my office asked all 99 county auditors to double-check their results. These human errors are unfortunate and frustrating, but the system is working. We have voter ID, paper ballots, post-election audits and a paper trail to protect the sanctity of the vote.”

The countywide recount will take place on Thursday.

See the unofficial results for every county here.

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