There could be a re-vote of some fashion for the Ward 7 Hopkinsville City Council Republican primary after it was discovered that an apparent flaw in technology allowed 109 people to vote in that election when they actually live in Ward 8.
During a special-called meeting of the Christian County Board of Elections Wednesday, Jennifer Nichols of the Clerk’s Office explained that some voters who vote at precinct G104 are in Ward 7 and some are in 8 and they noticed before the election that there were issues with splitting the precinct in the software.
They notified Tenex—the company who programs the county’s computer systems that ensure voters get the right ballot when their identification is scanned—and they believed after checking and double-checking the system before the election that the problem was resolved.
Nichols says sometime around mid-day Tuesday, they learned at least some voters in Ward 8 had incorrectly been given a Ward 7 ballot and they notified Tenex immediately so the problem could be quickly resolved for the remainder of the day.
Even with the quick work addressing the problem, 109 people had already voted in a ward where they didn’t live and it may be impossible to isolate those ballots and eliminate only those votes—though that possibility is being investigated.
Those ineligible votes pose a significant issue in a primary where Doug Wilcox defeated Mark Graham by only one vote—a 185 to 184 tally.
A point of contention emerged between two sides–County Clerk Mike Kem and Democratic Representative Jim Gardner and Republican Representative Philip Eastman and Mark Graham—and it was regarding who knew about the scope of the problem, when they knew and why the Republican representation didn’t learn of the issue until Wednesday.
Kem said he knew of an issue with one person getting a wrong ballot Tuesday, but he and Gardner both asserted multiple times they didn’t know how large the problem was until Wednesday. Eastman felt communication between members of the board wasn’t adequate during the election and wasn’t satisfied with their answers.
Kem blamed the entire problem on failure by Tenex to properly program the technology that directs poll workers to give the voter the correct ballot.
Kem says there were reports of similar issues in approximately five other Kentucky counties that use the Tenex system.
Eastman filed a complaint Wednesday morning with the Attorney General’s Office and while that office has yet to provide official direction, he says the AG’s office appears to be agreeing with Kem that some type of re-vote may be in order.
It would be up to a Christian Circuit judge about how to conduct a potential re-vote. Polls could be reopened to any Republican in Ward 7 on a specified day, ballots could be mailed to everyone who voted on or before primary Election Day or the judge could establish some other type of election to decide the race.
Assistant County Attorney Lincoln Foster expects to hear from the Attorney General’s Office as soon as Thursday morning and he’ll then notify Kem of how the AG intends to proceed.
Graham appeared in person and Wilcox by phone and Graham says he would prefer to start with a blank slate if there’s a new election instead of mailing out ballots. He will be able to argue his case before a judge if and when the process makes it to that point.
In other discussions, Kem says he would prefer to go back to voting at traditional precincts in future elections and there is at least some support for that on the Board of Elections.
Graham and Magistrate Darrell Gustafson, who lost his bid for re-election, each expressed to the board a belief that some folks went to their former voting location and left when they didn’t see anyone around.
Signs were placed on the doors of those old polling locations, but both men still felt some voters may have not gotten out of their cars when they saw no activity.
Kem did note, however, that the locations of the eight voting centers where any Democrat or Republican could vote Tuesday were advertised in advance in multiple ways prior to the election.
No formal action was taken Wednesday as the board awaits word from the attorney general before the details of any potential solution will likely be decided by a circuit judge.
One thing appears almost certain, the final tally in the race will not finish where it is now.
Mark Graham