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~f~1tP of ~innp~nt~ JOAN ANDERSON GROWE Secretary of State ELAINE VOSS Deputy Secretary o/State OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE ?~'~jYt~ ~ttlt~ 55155 October 11, 1989 RECOUNT OF ROSEVILLE CITY PRIMARY ELECTION Elections Division Summary 780 STATE OFFICE BUILDING Corporation Division: 672/296-2803 UCC Oivision: 672/?96-2434 Election Division: 672/296-2805 Oflice of the Secretary: 672/296-3266 Olfice of Deputy Secy.: 672/296-2309 The Secretary of State was requested by the Roseville City Council to conduct a partial recount of the primary election held Sept. 26, 1989. The request was made in response to a rather drastic undervote situation the city staff had noticed in Precinct 5. Although the recount established the correct tally for the precinct (see Attachment A), the overall outcome was not changed. Analysis indicates that the likely cause of the undervote was the use of inappropriate pens to mark the optical scan ballots. Authority The recount and analysis was conducted by the Elections Division of the Office of the Secretary of State pursuant to the authority granted by 1989 Laws of Minnesota, Chapter 291, Article 1, Section 27. It was .the first use of this authority. Background The 349 voters in Precinct 5 were to have voted for three of seven candidates in the nonpartisan city primary. The top six candidates would then appear on the general election ballot. The potential vote for all seven candidates in Precinct 5 was 1047. What the city staff discovered instead, after the election judges had delivered the returns, was that the tally showed only 361 votes cast for the entire slate. The 361 votes fell 686 votes short of the potential of 1047. votes. This compared to an undervote of .702 for the other eight precincts combined. Also, the 66~ rate of undervoting in Precinct 5 greatly exceeded the 7~ average rate. of undervoting in the other precincts. See Attachment B. It was unlikely that a recount of Precinct 5 would change the overall results of the election. (The seventh or losing candidate would have needed a minimum of 54~ of the vote from Precinct 5 contrasted to the 14~ he tallied from the other precincts to change his standing.) Never-the-less, the apparent discrepancy challenged the credibility of the Business Records Corp. (BRC) Optech III-P electronic optical scan vote counters used, and concern was high that the problem, if any, be identified and resolved quickly. "AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER" °® so