11/13/2008 3:57:00 PM Routine audit yields extra vote for Coleman in county
After a few days of seeing vote corrections land on the Franken side, Republican Senate Candidate Norm Coleman received some good news from Cottonwood County--he gained one vote.
The error was found during a routine audit of county scanning equipment on Wednesday. Cottonwood County Auditor Jan Johnson said a voter used a pencil (instead of a pen) and didn't mark the ballot dark enough.
Consequently, the vote was not read by the scanner. Only two of the county's 28 precincts were tested on Wednesday.
However, Johnson says the public should not expect a major change, once next week's local recount is complete.
The recount for the Coleman vs. Al Franken U.S. Senate race is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 20. It will occur in the Cottonwood County Courthouse.
Two three-person teams will serve as counters. All six worked as election judges in the county during this year's election. Johnson will oversee the operation.
In an interview this afternoon, Johnson pointed out that the current scanning equipment has been tested at least three times this fall--once before the primary, once before the general election and again this past Wednesday as part of a routine audit.
Johnson said any errors found next week are likely to be similar to the one found Wednesday. Johnson predicted that the local count will bring a net change of less than five votes.
Johnson said he hopes to finish the recount in one day, but added that it could possibly take two days.
Check Citizen Online Breaking News and the Nov. 19 Cottonwood County Citizen and Citizen eEdition for much more on this story.
