As pundits, partisan pols and those at the extreme ends of the political spectrum continue to question the accuracy of the nation’s voting systems, clerks in Oregon quietly took steps to counter that narrative this week with a test to demonstrate that all is well when it comes to tabulating votes in the state.
The Yamhill County Clerk’s Office joined in the effort on June 17 when it conducted what is known as an administrative hand count. Required by the Secretary of State in the weeks following a primary or general election, the process is as simple as it sounds: Ballots that have been kept in a secure facility since the election are delivered in individual batches to two three-person election boards within the confines of the clerk’s office in McMinnville.
Each board individually tabulates how many votes each candidate or measure garnered in the race. They then compare their tallies to those rendered by ballot-counting machines in a process referred to as certified election results.
“This is not an adversarial proceeding, but another step in the electoral process to ensure the integrity of the election process,” Clerk Keri Hinton said in an email.
For the May primary election, eight randomly selected batches were chosen from two races by the Secretary of State’s office: the Democratic nominee for state treasurer and Position 2 on the Yamhill County Board of Commissioners.
The treasurer race pitted Elizabeth Steiner vs. Jeff Gudman. Steiner won the primary and will advance to the general election in November.
The commissioner race included incumbent Lindsay Berschauer, newcomer David “Bubba” King and perennial candidate David Wall. Although King earned several thousand more votes than Berschauer, his tally was less than the 50% plus one vote necessary to avoid a runoff in the fall .
The hand count of the primary election was concluded in a single day at the clerk’s headquarters in McMinnville. By law, those conducting the hand counts must be bipartisan and cannot be related to a candidate or be a candidate on the ballot. They are comprised primarily of election workers who have already gone through the hiring process and help out in each election, Hinton said.
“The election boards found zero exceptions and zero defects in the state treasurer — Democrat and Yamhill County Commissioner Position 2 races in the official certified results,” she said, adding, “I hereby certify the Yamhill County results of the administrative hand count to be true and accurate.”
The manner in which the hand count is conducted remains the same as in year’s past.
“The process for the administrative hand count is a very smooth process because this office has been following the same procedures for a long time,” Hinton said.
That process is directed by the Secretary of State’s office, Hinton said, adding that once all counties have completed the hand count and filed their forms with its elections division, the secretary of state will compile results and make them available at www.oregonvotes.gov.
Observers from the media and individuals designated by the candidates are welcome to witness the process, although even during these tumultuous political times it’s rare for the tedious process to be viewed by many onlookers. Hinton said 15 observers were on hand to scrutinize the process in Yamhill County last week.
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