Shawnee Co. mistake doesn't alter outcome; No big problems in Riley   (KS)

Sarah Nightingale    The Manhattan Mercury   07 August 2008

A mistake by Shawnee County's election office that caused 4,446 votes to go uncounted Tuesday night did not change the outcome of the county's races.

The problem, which was discovered by election officials Wednesday morning, left the winners of some of the close races hesitant to crack open the champagne.

One such race was the battle between Lynn Jenkins and Jim Ryun in the Republican primary for the 2nd District Congressional seat.

Before the uncounted votes were added, Jenkins led the race with 32,240 votes. With 31,233 votes, her opponent, Jim Ryun, trailed by about 1,000. The number of missing votes meant that the small margin could be made up.

When the missing votes were factored in, Jenkins picked up 1,662 votes and Ryun picked up 1,288, which increased her lead by about 400 votes.

Speaking after the final numbers were in, Jenkins said she was very happy the results of her "grassroots" campaign.

"This is a testimony to the fact grassroots campaigns are still effective," Jenkins said. "I'm ready for the next leg."

Speaking at a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Elizabeth Ensley, Shawnee County election commissioner, said the error there involved ballots mailed to military personnel and American citizens living overseas. Those 43 ballots were entered into the computer in the wrong place, causing the system to reject thousands of traditional ballots as mistakes.

Ensley said the glitch was "not an equipment or software error. It was simply a human error."

Riley Co. problems 'typical,' Vargo says

Riley County adopted electronic voting three years ago, but a problem with shutting the machines down Tuesday evening seemed to suggest there are still a few creases to be ironed out here.

"The poll workers had some questions about how to shut the machines down, but we still had all the results in by 9:30 p.m.," said Vargo, adding that the snag was "just typical election stuff."

"There is no statutory regulation saying we have to get the results out that night," Vargo said. "The primary responsibility of an election official is the accuracy — not the timeliness — of the results."

No Fort Riley voters show

Geary County officials said a glitch is not responsible for the lack of votes in 14 precincts covering the county's section of Fort Riley.

According to Rebecca Bossemeyer, Geary County clerk, not one of the 596 voters registered in the 14 precincts came out to vote in the primary.

Bossemeyer said she was not surprised by the result.

"I would guess half of those people no longer live here... soldiers are deployed and families move to other areas," she said. "Generally, the military interest lies with elections with the president on the ballot."

Bossemeyer said only a couple of people from the precincts voted in the 2006 primary, with slightly more turning out for the November 2006 general election.

Rich Vargo, Riley County clerk, agreed the results are not atypical for military precincts.

 "Military move in and out fast, they are so transitional," he said. "I think that's part of the reason."

Vargo said none of the 545 voters in the Riley County's only Fort Riley precinct — Madison Fort Riley Township — showed up to vote in Tuesday's primary.