Scott County Auditor Kerri Tompkins is conducting an administrative recount for the general election. The Republican auditor is requesting an administrative recount of the absentee and special voters’ precinct ballots. The recount is happening right now.
The race it is expected to impact the most is Luana Stoltenberg’s victory in Iowa House District 81 where the Republican finished with a 5,062-5,038 victory against Democrat Craig Lynn Cooper.
On Nov. 10, Tompkins said the Scott County post-election audit confirmed election results from election night. She said her office conducted the post-election audit based on the governor’s race and the Freedom Amendment question. Those issues were hand-counted by a board of five election officials and compared to the machine count of the same ballots. The hand-counted results confirmed the vote totals were the same as the totals counted by machine on election night.
However, on Nov. 11, Tompkins said she was requesting the administrative recount of the absentee and special voters’ precinct ballots.
“My job is to audit the numbers and ensure 100 percent accurate results,” she said. “If there is any question, I believe a recount is necessary.”
Tompkins said the discrepancy involves 470 ballots of the total absentee and special voters precinct ballots.
Sources told The Iowa Standard the absentee ballots were “found.” Where they were found and how they were found haven’t been answered.
According to the Secretary of State’s office, an error was discovered in the tabulation of Scott County’s absentee ballot numbers.
“As requested by Secretary Pate, Scott County is conducting an administrative recount of their absentee numbers to ensure they get the accurate count,” said Pate’s communications director, Kevin Hall. “We will ensure the integrity of Iowa’s elections is maintained.”
The previously mentioned post-election audit was done separately from this administrative recount, Hall said.
“That hand count of a randomly selected precinct confirmed the results of that precinct matched the ballot tabulator,” Hall said.
Pate and Tompkins requested the administrative recount.
