An election official in Iowa’s second congressional district says he won’t be surprised if there’s a recount in the race between Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Democrat Rita Hart. The vote count posted on the Secretary of State’s website still shows Miller-Meeks leading by 282 votes.
Jasper County Auditor Dennis Parrott says five different people associated with the Hart campaign contacted him for information on Wednesday.
“I haven’t been told they’re going to ask for a recount, but they’re really looking into it if they’re wanting to find out this information,” Parrott says. “The information that they want are the number of provisionals, in which in Jasper is one, and how many ballots are still outstanding that could have been postmarked by the 2nd.”
Iowans who showed up to vote on Tuesday, but forgot their photo ID or had requested an absentee ballot but didn’t have it to exchange for a regular ballot were allowed to cast a provisional ballot. Parrott says the number of not-yet-counted absentee ballots — particularly in Johnson and Scott Counties — will determine if there’s a recount.
“They could have a sizable or not — who knows — the amount of votes that still are going to be counted because people got them postmarked by Monday,” Parrott says.
Those ballots with a November 2 postmark are to be counted if they’re delivered to a county auditor’s office by November 9. When those ballots are counted and included in each county’s official canvas next week, the vote tally in this race will obviously change. State law allows candidates to request a county-wide recount or even a recount in a specific precinct.
(By Randy Van, KCOB, Newton)