Idaho Election Bombshell After 2,675 Ballots Go Missing Across Two Counties in Major Counting Blunder

Thousands of ballots were left out of publicly reported election results in two Idaho counties following the US midterm elections, triggering a full recount and fresh scrutiny of election procedures. The discovery involved 2,342 ballots in Latah County and another 333 in Bannock County.

Although officials said the errors did not change any winners, the incident has raised questions about how the votes were reported and whether election safeguards are working as intended.

Officials Hold Full Recount of All Ballots Cast

The largest discrepancy emerged in Latah County, where officials discovered that results from 2,342 ballots cast during early voting had not been included in the publicly reported totals. The ballots had already been tabulated by election machines, but the results were not transferred to the state's election reporting system, according to the Idaho Secretary of State's Office.

The Latah County Clerk's Office identified the error during its review ahead of the official canvass, the process used to verify election results before certification. A full recount of all ballots cast in the county took place on 10 November at the Latah County Courthouse, under the supervision of state election officials. The recount was completed early the following morning, with officials confirming that no race or ballot measure outcomes had changed.

The 2,343 ballots represented approximately 12.9% of the 18,104 ballots cast in the county, according to the Idaho Capital Sun. Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane said the discrepancy was being treated seriously, stressing that every vote needed to be properly accounted for.

Concerns Over Idaho Election Results

The discovery prompted Laura Heinse, a Democratic candidate for Latah County commissioner, to file a formal complaint requesting a recount of her race. She raised concerns about the county's election-night reconciliation procedures and questioned whether other reporting discrepancies might have occurred.

Several contests had relatively close margins, including three state legislative seats and races for two county commission positions, county clerk and county treasurer. McGrane said the initial review indicated that the missing results would not change the outcome of any race.

Latah County Clerk Julie Fry also acknowledged the mistake, saying: 'We take our responsibility to accurately report election results seriously, and this error should not have happened.'

Following the recount, Republican Dan Schoenberg defeated Heinse by 129 votes in the county commissioner race. The final recount did not change the winner.

Bannock County Finds Another 333 Uncounted Ballots

A second ballot-counting error emerged in eastern Idaho's Bannock County, where officials discovered that 333 ballots from the Pocatello 2 precinct had not been counted on election night. The ballots were subsequently tabulated, with officials confirming that their inclusion did not change the outcomes of any races.

Bannock County Clerk Jason Dixon acknowledged the failure, saying, 'Needless to say, this should not have happened.'

He said the county was working with the Idaho Secretary of State's Office to investigate the incident and identify additional measures to prevent similar errors.

Idaho Announces Statewide Election Audits

The discrepancies have prompted additional scrutiny of election procedures across Idaho.

The State Board of Canvassers was scheduled to meet on Friday to initiate audits of election results statewide. Auditors were also expected to visit randomly selected counties and precincts to conduct hand counts and review reported totals. McGrane said the post-election reconciliation process was essential to verifying election results and identifying discrepancies.

The Latah County recount demonstrated the importance of maintaining paper records, which allowed officials to return to the original ballots and verify the results.