(KNSI) – Scott County officials have disputed allegations that 30 voters cast two ballots in November’s hotly contested District 54A race.
DFL candidate Brad Tabke was declared the winner by only 14 votes, so the Monday statement from Republican Representatives Pam Altendorf and Tom Murphy that dozens of duplicate voters took part was a potential bombshell. The lawmakers say they paid a fee to the Secretary of State’s office for the Registered Voter List. Data analysts and lawyers pored over the lists and concluded that 30 voters cast two ballots.
Scott County responded Tuesday afternoon. They say that after the election, staff updated 3,000 records with new information like birthdate, address, name change, or spelling error, which is the process laid out by state law, and everything is entered manually. For 30 of those changes, a duplicate voter history was created. County officials say that is a separate file from the official voter record. They also note that processes are in place to catch errors when they happen, and the review is ongoing until January 9th.
Elections Manager Julia Hanson says, “Absentee voters have an absentee voter ‘record’ that is created at the time of voting. This means that the record is verified through an entry into the Voter Registration System. She adds, “As such, they are prevented from voting again – so the assertion of ‘duplicate votes’ is simply not true.”
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