After North Idaho’s Latah County found 2,300 of unreported ballots, recount shows no races changed

In Latah County in North Idaho, a full recount — prompted by the discovery of thousands of unreported ballots — showed that the outcomes of all races and ballot issues in the county remained unchanged, state election officials said.

The recount came after the Latah County Clerk’s Office, which runs the election locally, discovered that 2,343 ballots were not added into the state’s system to report unofficial election results on Election Day. 

The ballots — from a portion of early voting  — had already been counted by tabulation machines, but the results weren’t uploaded to the state’s reporting system, state officials said. Those ballots represented 12.9% of all 18,104 ballots cast in Latah County, according to state election officials.

The Latah County Clerk’s Office conducted the recount Tuesday, which was overseen by the Idaho Office of Secretary of State, the state election agency. The secretary of state’s office announced the recount was completed early Wednesday morning.

“We take our responsibility to accurately report election results seriously, and this error should not have happened,” Latah County Clerk Julie Fry, an elected Republican, said in a written statement. “I’m grateful to our election staff and the Secretary of State’s Office for their work to verify the results and ensure every ballot is properly accounted for.”

The new results for Latah County are available online. 

The closest issue there, according to state election officials, was the Moscow School District Plant Facilities Reserve Fund Levy, which narrowly passed with 60.34% of the vote. It needed 60% support to pass.

A race for county commissioner in Latah got even closer. Republican Dan Schoenberg had won with 129 more votes than Democrat Laura Heinse, who had submitted a complaint to Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane on Monday over the unreported ballots. 

“Elections have built-in safeguards to ensure votes are accurately counted and reported,”McGrane said in a statement. “When this discrepancy was discovered, our team jumped into action and headed immediately to Latah County. For the recount, we went back to the source, which is the paper ballots. That’s how we verify the results and give voters confidence that their voices are accurately reflected.”

The results from last week’s election remain unofficial until they are certified by the State Board of Canvassers, which is scheduled to meet Nov. 24.

The Idaho State Board of Canvassers, which certifies the state’s election results, is set to meet at 1 p.m. Friday to select counties and precincts that will undergo audits of election results, including hand counts and reviews of reported results.

In eastern Idaho’s Bannock County, Idaho election officials reported on Tuesday that 333 ballots went uncounted but would not change the outcomes of races there.