Krueger adds two votes to his slim lead

The number of votes separating the top two finishers in the District 3 Flathead County commissioner Republican primary race remains close enough to allow for a recount, after 109 provisional ballots were added to the vote totals Monday afternoon.

Gary Krueger now leads Jay Scott by 17 votes, 3,661 to 3,644.

County elections office staffers counted provisional ballots Monday, which resulted in more votes for all five Republican candidates in the District 3 race.

Elections Supervisor Monica Eisenzimer had evaluated the 124 provisional ballots prior to Monday’s count, Flathead County Clerk Paula Robinson said. That review resulted in 15 ballots being rejected and 109 counted and added to the vote total. Of that total, 75 ballots were cast in the Republican primary and 34 in the Democratic primary.

Krueger gained 25 votes Monday, while Scott’s tally bumped up 23. Mike Schlegel gained another 16 votes, to finish with 2,047; Bob Herron gained 15 votes, for a total of 2,352 and Terry Kramer added six votes to his final tally to reach 1,961.

After the final numbers were released, Scott said he still hasn’t decided if he’ll request a recount. He must wait until after the votes are canvassed, which is scheduled to occur June 19. State law specifies that a recount can’t be requested until after the canvass, although last week, Robinson and Eisenzimer said such a request could be made after the provisional ballots were counted. This week, they said the request had to wait until after the canvass.

State law allows a losing candidate to request a recount if the margin of defeat is less than 1/4th of 1 percent of the total vote or by a margin not exceeding 10 votes, whichever is greater.

The official canvass of ballots, conducted by the three county commissioners, Robinson, Eisenzimer and elections office employees, is set for 9 a.m. Tuesday, June 19, in the Country Fair Kitchen at the county fairgrounds.

Scott said he plans to spend the next few days making a decision about asking for a recount.

“Running for commissioner was something I wanted to do for a number of years,” he said. “I’m sure (Gary) also did.

“Campaigning was fun and educational,” he said. “And the nice thing is we live in a country where people have a right to choose.”

A candidate who requests a recount must bear the costs incurred by the county for that effort, Robinson said. The cost in this case isn’t known. But in November 2004, a recount of the District 2 commissioner race after the general election cost $1,900.

With the provisional ballots added to the total, Flathead County’s voter turnout increased to 19,630 out of 57,776 registered voters.

There are many reasons for a ballot to be considered provisional. Most commonly, a voter who requested an absentee ballot failed to return that ballot and shows up at a polling place on Election Day wanting to vote, Robinson said. That voter is allowed to vote, his or her ballot identified as provisional and then records checked to determine if the absentee ballot was returned to ensure the person didn’t vote twice.

Another common reason for deeming a ballot provisional is that a voter moved since the last election without changing his or her address with the clerk’s office, Eisenzimer said. In that case, county employees are checking that the ballot was cast in the proper precinct and that the person voted at only one site.

Robinson said sometimes people can’t provide identification at the polling place so their ballots  are considered provisional. Those voters are told to bring proof of identification to the county before the provisional ballots are reviewed. If they do so, their ballots are counted, Robinson said.

Reporter Shelley Ridenour may be reached at 758-4439 or sridenour@dailyinterlake.com.