Making Sense of Missed Ballots (Corrected)

All told, poll workers at 10 of Kanawha County's 175 precincts neglected to count a total of 526 ballots after voting ended Saturday in the table games special election, Clerk Vera McCormick told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

These were among the 10,275 ballots cast during early voting, and then sent out Saturday to the precincts of their respective voters. State law requires paper ballots _ including early votes _ to be counted at the precincts, as opposed to the county clerk's office.

McCormick's staff found 88 of these ballots from two precincts late Saturday and counted them. (They also counted 67 ballots from a third precinct; McCormick said Tuesday those had actually been counted already, and the double-count must now be deducted from the total.)

Another 64 ballots from a Sissonville precinct were discovered when McCormick's office re-opened Monday. A search of all the bags from the various precincts Tuesday yielded an additional 374 ballots from seven precincts.

(Update: Thanks to the Charleston Daily Mail for information on the two additional precincts with overlooked ballots found Tuesday.)

McCormick tells AP that ballots can often be overlooked this way, which is why counties conduct mandatory audits before results are made official. She said there were similar incidents during the county's last special issue election, the failed 2005 pension bond proposal.

Two factors have made the current situation more glaring, in McCormick's view: the high interest in the battle over allowing casino table games in West Virginia; and the unofficial, 33-vote margin by which Tri-State Racetrack & Gaming Center has prevailed (so far) on the question.

McCormick expects all of the as-yet-uncounted early ballots to be added to the total once the audit of results begins Friday. During this canvass, the county commission must also decide what to do with more than 500 ballots that were challenged by poll workers when they were cast Saturday.

Others reporting on the latest developments include MetroNews, The Charleston Gazette, and the Charleston Daily Mail (which also hears from local residents in a related article.)

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