Secretary of State launches audit into uncounted Johnson County absentee ballots

State and local offices have launched an audit into more than 2,000 midterm election ballots left uncounted in Johnson County, though race outcomes are not expected to change. According to a Friday afternoon joint statement from Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate and Johnson County Auditor Julie Persons, an official in the Johnson County Auditor’s Office on Thursday identified about 2,017 absentee ballots that were not included in unofficial results from Tuesday’s local, state and federal elections. The audit, which was set to begin “immediately” on Friday and wrap up by Nov. 9, will focus on the county’s Absentee and Special Voters Precinct. Based on current unofficial results, race outcomes are not expected to change, the joint statement said. “This is why we employ a layered approach to election security, and scenarios like this prove that our checks and balances work,” the joint statement stated.

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