tsai3904
02-14-2013, 03:26 PM
It's not exactly the kind of Valentine's Day gift elections officials in Sacramento County probably wanted: a bag placed in a storage area that held hundreds of cast -- but uncounted -- ballots from the Nov. 6 election.
Jill La Vine, Sacramento's registrar of voters, says 407 ballots were found by elections officials, cast by voters among 92 different precincts across the county.
"They were in the wrong bag," says La Vine about why the ballots weren't counted. It's not immediately clear who used a bag not intended for ballots, or why.
La Vine says her staff has taken a look to see whether the ballots might have changed the outcome of some of the county's hottest races -- which included a down-to-the-wire congressional contest and a couple of closely watched local ballot measures.
"They would not have changed the outcome of any races," she says. That appears to be, in part, because they came from so many different county precincts.
Sacramento County attorneys, as well as the Secretary of State's office, have already been consulted on the uncounted ballots. And all apparently agree that there's nothing that can be done.
As such, the ballots will be stored -- unopened -- with all of the other ballots from the fall election.
More:
http://www.news10.net/capitol/article/230404/525/Uncounted-fall-ballots-found-in-Sacramento-County
Jill La Vine, Sacramento's registrar of voters, says 407 ballots were found by elections officials, cast by voters among 92 different precincts across the county.
"They were in the wrong bag," says La Vine about why the ballots weren't counted. It's not immediately clear who used a bag not intended for ballots, or why.
La Vine says her staff has taken a look to see whether the ballots might have changed the outcome of some of the county's hottest races -- which included a down-to-the-wire congressional contest and a couple of closely watched local ballot measures.
"They would not have changed the outcome of any races," she says. That appears to be, in part, because they came from so many different county precincts.
Sacramento County attorneys, as well as the Secretary of State's office, have already been consulted on the uncounted ballots. And all apparently agree that there's nothing that can be done.
As such, the ballots will be stored -- unopened -- with all of the other ballots from the fall election.
More:
http://www.news10.net/capitol/article/230404/525/Uncounted-fall-ballots-found-in-Sacramento-County