Ballot Snafu Completely Changes Outcome of a City Election Here

A recount in the Round Top Alderman race changed the outcome of the election, which took place last Saturday, May 7. Lynn Conine and Owen Massey are now the winners of the election. The initial count had Jeannette Burger and Massey winning the race.

Conine, the incumbent who appeared to have lost the at-large three-way race, requested the recount after a problem was discovered with the ballots used on Election Day.

“Paper ballots listing the candidates in the wrong ballot order were used in the town’s May 7th Alderperson election on Election Day,” said Fayette County Elections Administrator Terri Hefner.

“Election results remain unofficial until the election is canvassed. This election has not been canvassed.” Hefner said in a statement released last Friday, May 13.

Hefner said the candidate order on the paper ballots used on election day in Round Top differed from the order programmed into the ballot counting machine. Hefner said the candidates in the Round Top alderperson race should have been listed in the following order: Owen Massey, Jeannette Burger and Lynn Conine. The counting machine was programmed for that order as well, she said.

Before the election, Hefner said, her staff noticed that the Round Top paper ballots listed the candidates in an incorrect order: Lynn Conine, Owen Massey and Jeannette Burger.

She said her office ordered new ballots with the correct order before the election. Hefner said her office thought all of the incorrect ballots were destroyed. One package of the wrong ballots, however, made it to Round Top on election day. The election workers just so happened to open that package first, and none of the other packages were needed.

“For example, if a voter marked the first spot for Lynn Conine, the machine counted the vote for Owen Massey,” Hefner said. “All of the ones they used on election day had the wrong ballot order.”

Voters were to pick two candidates from the three listed to fill two seats on the council. Unofficial results initially showed Massey and Burger winning the election. The vote counts were 46 for Massey, 48 for Burger and 28 for Conine. After the recount, the vote totals were 43 for Massey, 28 for Burger and 53 for Conine. Round Top Town Clerk David Stall said only the paper ballot were affected by the mishap. Early votes and votes that were cast on the voting machines on election day were counted correctly, he said.

“It is very unfortunate that this happened, but the system worked in the end,” Stall said.

Stall said each of the candidates sent representatives to participate in the recount.

Hefner took responsibility for the mistake.

“It’s no one else’s fault but ours, it’s my mistake,” she said.

Burger accepted the outcome with grace.

“No bitter grapes, no regrets,” Burger said. “I’m glad Lynn got on the Council. He’s a good man. Owen is new to the town, but he has children involved in the school district. I’m sure he’ll look out for the town.

“I’m still going to do what I normally do,” she added. “I’m going to ask the hard questions and look out for the citizens of Round Top. Our little town is changing a little bit too fast for me. I try to represent the old timers in Round Top. But things change. I’m still going to be vocal on what happens in Town Council.”

The problem only affected the Town of Round Top on Election Day, Hefner said. She said her office double-checked the ballot order of all the other races as a precaution.