Confirmation of the local results of last week’s election is likely weeks away. As of Tuesday, there are still about 43,000 unprocessed ballots. That’s in addition to more than 20,500 potentially damaged ballots that need to be duplicated and verified in a time-consuming and labor intensive process. The damaged ballots are an unprecedented hurtle for the Elections Department. Microscopic splatters of ink overspray on many of the ballots voters received by mail is preventing proper scanning. It’s a problem shared by Nevada County, the only other county that used the same combination of ballots and scanners. Runbeck, which printed the ballots, and Hart Intercivic, which provides the machines, will be expected to compensate the county for the significantly higher labor costs being incurred as a result of the defect.
-Steve Gibson