Fair Grove ballot issue throws local election into question

GREENE COUNTY, Mo. — The discovery of ballot discrepancies in Fair Grove has caused concern over the outcome of elections in the city.

Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller tells OzarksFirst that on the morning of Election Day, a Fair Grove voter called the Greene County Clerk’s Office concerned that they were placed in the incorrect ward after receiving what they believed to be a wrong ballot.

The office later confirmed the address issue and immediately started identifying which ballots were issued incorrectly. The office found that the discrepancies were caused by some addresses not being adjusted after the city’s boundary changes in 2021, leading to some people being placed in the wrong ward.

These discrepancies are particularly impacting the Ward 2 election, where it was determined by the clerk’s office that the unofficial winner of the race surpassed the margin of wrongly issued ballots.

As a result, bi-partisan election judge teams for the contest will conduct a public hand recount on Friday, April 5 at 9:00 a.m. in the Greene County Elections Center before the bi-partisan verification board certifies the election results on Monday, April 8 at 1:30 p.m.

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