Twenty-three more ballots were added to the mix of the primary election.
Allen County Clerk Sherrie Riebel said the 23 ballots that came in Wednesday were postmarked by Tuesday, as mandated by state law to be counted.
The additional votes allowed Bruce Symes to extend his slim lead over challenger John Brocker, albeit slightly, in their Allen County Commission race.
Counting Wednesday’s tally, Symes now leads Brocker by nine votes, 350 votes to 341. As of Tuesday, Symes was seven votes ahead.
The tally will be updated twice more, later this afternoon and then again Friday afternoon, the deadline for mail-in ballots.
Also still in the mix are 49 provisional ballots that will be scrutinized when county commissioners certify the election on Tuesday.
A provisional ballot is marked when a voter’s registration status is in question.
There are several reasons a poll worker may mark a ballot as provisional, Riebel noted, such as if the name or addresses on the voter roles do not match, or if a voter has gotten married or otherwise changed their name. Occasionally, a registered voter may show up on Election Day at the wrong polling place as well.
Waiting until next week to certify the election allows Riebel and others in the County Clerk’s office to investigate each provisional ballot to determine a vote’s validity.
There are several instances for a provisional ballot to be rejected as well, she noted, such as if a voter has failed to register in time; if a voter had already cast an advance ballot before showing up at the polls on Election Day; if they’ve moved out of their previous voting district and didn’t re-register; or if their voting privileges have been suspended because of a felony conviction.
“There’s a good possibility they’ll be counted,” Riebel said.
THE OTHER contested local races were decisive enough that the mail-in and provisional ballots will carry no significance before the primary vote is certified.
David Lee’s lead over Craig Mentzer remains at 124 votes for the Allen County Commission District 2 race. Lee will be the Republican nominee in November against Michelle Meiwes, Democrat.
The Symes-Brocker winner will face no Democratic opposition in November.
