Jammed ballot scanners forces recounts of 3,155 votes in Cedar Rapids PPEL election

CEDAR RAPIDS — Jammed ballot scanners have prompted the Linn County Auditor's Office to call for a recount at two polling places, where 3,155 votes were registered in the Cedar Rapids school tax levy election on Tuesday.

Ballots at Jefferson and Washington high schools were curling up Tuesday, possibly due to humidity from the rain, causing them to get stuck in the vote scanning machines. The machine at Washington was switched out on election day.

The curled ballots were pulled out and resubmitted, causing uncertainty over whether some were double-counted.

'Because of how busy it was yesterday, we don't feel we can say definitively that every ballot that was cast wasn't jammed in and ran through again,' said Tim Box, deputy commissioner of elections. 'To eliminate the possibility, we will run them through again.'

The administrative recount will be handled by the three-member Absentee & Special Precinct Board and the chairpersons from the two vote centers beginning at 2 p.m. Thursday, Box said.

The administrative recount is just one hurdle to reaching an outcome in a too-close-to-call election. At this point, a 32-vote margin favors increasing the Cedar Rapids PPEL, or physical plant and equipment levy, to a rate of $1.34 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for 10 years.

Voters resoundingly rejected the measure a year ago, but this year saw 60 percent higher turnout.

A second hurdle is absentee ballots.

On Tuesday night, Box said 98 of the absentee ballots requested were outstanding. By the end of the day Wednesday only 87 absentee remained, he said. Six people relinquished absentee ballots at the polls on Tuesday, and the auditor's office received five ballots by mail on Wednesday, he said.

There were also four provisional ballots that were submitted at the polls, he said.

All told, there could be an additional nine ballots added to the total vote, Box said.

If postmarked on or before this past Monday, more ballots could be counted, but Box said with each passing day it is less likely those votes will be forthcoming. The auditor's office will canvass the votes on Monday to certify the election.

After that, there's another potential delay.

Citizens have three days to request a recount, which can be done with a petition signed by 65 people, or 1 percent of the votes cast, he said. If a recount is called, it likely would be conducted at some point during the week of Sept. 22, Box said.

The election could be concluded on Monday after the canvass, or it could take several more days.

Historically the results from election day don't change, Box said.

Scott Drzycimski, a Cedar Rapids parent who helped advocate for passage of the PPEL, said the quantity of outstanding ballots doesn't appear to be enough to change the outcome. With the recount of the two polling places yet to come and the narrow margin, however, he's reserving judgment.

'We are feeling like it is best to see how those turn out to determine a final outcome of this,' he said.

l Comments: (319) 339-3177; brian.morelli@thegazette.com