Canvass shows changes in presidential vote total

Officials in northwest Iowa’s Sioux County have taken about nine hundred votes away from Al Gore’s tally in Iowa. Donn Stanley, a spokesman for Iowa’s Commissioner of Elections, says the problem occurred in one precinct in Orange City. Stanley says votes cast for Bush were also counted for Gore in that precinct.Yesterday, 57 of Iowa’s 99 counties conducted an “official canvass” of votes, counting absentee ballots and reviewing contested ballots. The rest of Iowa’s counties are certifying votes today.Stanley says some counties’ tallies won’t be complete until tonight, because some Boards of Supervisors have night meetings. In a related ballot matter, at least three counties with voting machines failed to adhere to a state rule on “spoiled” ballots cast for two candidates.Stanley says if it can be done, machines are to be programmed so those “over-voted” ballots are rejected. When that happens, the voter’s supposed to get a new ballot. Stanley says Linn, Johnson and Polk counties didn’t do that, but Stanley says the number of spoiled ballots wouldn’t change the outcome in Iowa. Iowa’s largest county certified its election results today. Al Gore won Polk County by almost 10-thousand votes, and actually gained 140 votes today.