KOOTENAI COUNTY, Idaho — The unofficial results from all Idaho counties, except one, have been submitted. Kootenai County election officials say there is a delay in the full unofficial results.
So far, 98.6% of the unofficial results from the county are posted and ready to view, but according to the Idaho Secretary of State’s website, only one precinct out of 73 is not reporting yet.
According to theirwebsite, the biggest reason for the delay in full unofficial results is about 1,000 ballots where a voter marked one candidate, crossed that candidate out, and then voted for a different candidate for that office.
These ballots must be duplicated exactly onto a new ballot by a team of three staff, in order for the intent of the voter to be properly counted.
“County staff worked constantly overnight to process those ballots, and we are continuing to work on the remaining ballots. Most of our staff have not left the office for over 30 hours as we process these ballots,” according to the Kootenai County elections website.
Kootenai County also has many write-in ballots which must be hand-tallied for the name and validity of the write-in candidate.
According to their website, there are over 12,600 marked write-ins that must be hand-tallied for these results, and this must also be done by a team of three.
“Thank you for your patience as we follow our legal requirements and fulfill our due diligence in counting the results of the November 8th General Election,” staff said.
To view to election results, click here.
