Election Officials in Eastern Idaho’s Bannock County Discovered 333 Uncounted Ballots a Week

Election officials in eastern Idaho’s Bannock County discovered 333 uncounted ballots a week after the November 3 general election, a development that has triggered a review of local processing procedures.

The ballots, which originated entirely from the Pocatello 2 precinct, were identified during the routine post-election reconciliation process, according to the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office.

While the discovery of late-arriving results often raises concerns regarding potential shifts in narrow contests, state officials confirmed that the inclusion of these votes did not alter the outcome of any race.

The closest contest affected by the precinct was the race for District 29 House Seat B, where the margin narrowed slightly from 2,067 votes to 2,024, as reported by the Idaho Press. In the race for county coroner, Republican Torey Danner maintained a lead of 4,857 votes over independent candidate Wilson Simmons.

This incident marks the second time in a week that an Idaho county has reported a failure to include a batch of ballots in initial election night totals. Officials are currently overseeing a separate recount in Latah County, where more than 2,300 ballots went unreported in the initial count. Secretary of State Phil McGrane emphasized that these findings highlight the necessity of the state’s post-election audit structure.

Election Officials in Eastern Idaho’s Bannock County Discovered 333 Uncounted Ballots a Week — Photo: yahoo.com

“Once again, this demonstrates the importance of the reconciliation process we use to verify election results following every election. While I am thankful that these ballots were identified, we will be working to determine why these ballots were not processed on election night and working with counties across the state to reinforce our election processes, said Secretary of State Phil McGrane.”

Bannock County Clerk Jason Dixon acknowledged the error in a public statement, noting that the oversight occurred despite the county’s established protocols for handling ballot dropboxes and precinct returns. The Bannock County Elections office on North Sixth Avenue in Pocatello is now coordinating with the state to ensure the integrity of the updated tallies.

“Needless to say, this should not have happened. We take pride in Bannock County in the work that goes into running our elections,” Dixon said, as reported by the Idaho Capital Sun. He added that the county remains committed to transparency and that voters should be assured their ballots will be included in the final count.

“In eastern Idaho’s Bannock County, officials find 333 uncounted ballots week after election This batch of unreported ballots is smaller than one reported in North Idaho’s Latah County on Monday”

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The Bannock County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to convene at 9 a.m. on Thursday to formally recanvass the election results, incorporating the 333 additional ballots. This meeting serves as a preliminary step before the results are finalized at the state level.

The Idaho State Board of Canvassers is set to meet at 1 p.m. this Friday to select specific counties and precincts for mandatory audits, which will involve hand counts and comprehensive reviews of reported data. These safeguards are designed to verify the accuracy of results before they are made official.

Bannock County Clerk Jason Dixon — Photo: idahopress.com

According to the official election results website, all results remain unofficial until the final certification process is complete. The State Board of Canvassers has established a deadline of November 24 to certify the general election, at which point the Secretary of State will issue official certificates of nomination to the successful candidates.