Mariannette Miller-Meeks
More previously unreported votes have been added to the tally in Iowa’s second congressional district race and Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks is shown leading Democrat Rita Hart by just 49 votes.
The Lucas County Auditor discovered the votes from a precinct in Russell had not been included in the county’s preliminary results. That batch of ballots was added onto the county’s total before the Lucas County Board of Supervisors approved the official canvass of votes.
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate has ordered a machine recount of all Lucas County results as well as a hand recount of the Russell precinct’s ballots. This is the second county in the second congressional district to have a data entry error in reporting Election results. Jasper County votes have already been rechecked after the wrong numbers from a Mingo
Rita Hart
precinct were included in preliminary results.
“These human errors are unfortunate and frustrating,” Pate said, but added that the system is working because mistakes are being found and corrected.
Statewide results are not yet certified. The Hart and Miller-Meeks campaigns have three days after county board of supervisors approve the county’s official canvass to decide whether to seek recounts in precincts or entire counties in the second congressional district. That means those decisions must be made by Thursday in some counties or by Friday in others.