Thursday, September 4, 2014

Number of provisional ballots cast and counted not adding up...

According to people who were aware of what went on at the Supervisor of Elections Service Center and the Canvassing Board meeting that took place on Wednesday, the day after the election, there were a total of 31 provisional ballots cast in the city of Lake Worth last Tuesday. There were 231 cast in all of Palm Beach County. A total of 91, or 39%, were discarded and not counted countywide. A total of 26 ballots, equal to the number of votes the "For Bonds" vote was behind initially, were discarded and not counted. That is 84% of the provisional ballots cast in the city.

The precinct data show that there were a only a total of seven provisional ballots, and only five provisional ballots were counted. The ones that were counted were split; three "For Bonds" and two "Against Bonds." The seven came from just three precincts. These are indicated on the map above. In precinct 3058, only one regular precinct vote was tallied and the two provisional ballots were not counted.

Where did the other 24 plus provisional ballots end up? How did they split on the question? Why did the Canvassing Board meet before the two day period when people who cast provisional ballots could submit additional information showing that they indeed were eligible to vote? What were those people who cast provisional ballots told of their rights to submit additional information? What happened to the ballots cast during the period when there was a power outage at one of the polling locations? These are material questions in a race that was decided by 25 votes. They should not be swept under the rug.