CANYON COUNTY, Idaho — Sixteen poll workers were called back to the Canyon County Elections office Tuesday morning as four Canyon County races came down to five or fewer votes.
- Four teams of four each took one race.
- Teams hand counted 100 ballots each, then ran them through scanners to compare. After they matched, all recounted votes were run through ballot counters.
- Ultimately, recount results confirm the Wilder School District levy passed by just two votes, and three precinct committeemen were confirmed with a difference of five, three, and one single vote.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
Sixteen poll workers were called back to the Canyon County Elections office Tuesday morning. Four Canyon County races came down to five or fewer votes. Four teams of four each took one race. The method for recounting nearly identical to logic and accuracy testing ahead of the May primary.
"We have four teams that are counting 100 ballots each. Once they are finished counting the 100 ballots we are going to run it through the ballot scanners and if the results match with the hand tally then we will proceed with running the entire recount through the ballot tabulators," Canyon County Elections Office Manager Haley Hicks describes of the process.
Ultimately, recount results confirm the Wilder School District levy passed by just two votes, and three precinct committeemen were confirmed with a difference of five, three, and one single vote.
Richard Williams won by five votes, Jennifer Stringer won by three votes, and Dale Reynolds won by just one vote.
"It's maybe, perhaps, arguably, the least understood position. If one of the legislators were to resign or death or move out of the district or something like that, takes them out and creates a vacancy, it's these precinct committee members that gather, they give three names to the governor and the governor has to pick one of the three," Canyon County Clerk Rick Hogaboam explains.
Candidates requesting a recount have to pay a $100 fee for the recount. For the levy, as long as the results are within one tenth of one percent, anyone can request a recount free of charge.
"How much did today cost with all the poll workers?" I asked.
"Yeah, you know, that's a good question. It's going to be at least a couple thousand dollars. That's something we budget for," Hogaboam added.
