Ask Mr. Answer Person: "Did Clayton County receive absentee ballots in Iowa House District 55?"

Posted: Tue, Dec 18, 2018 1:19 PM

Brenda e-mails: "Did Clayton County have any absentee ballots that were not postmarked and were received after the deadline, and if so, how were those ballots handled?"

Mr. Answer Person says: "Iowa House District 55 includes just three townships in the northwest corner of Clayton County. Unofficial results on Election Night gave Kayla Koether 566 votes and Michael Bergan 582 votes.

Just one absentee ballot from those three townships arrived after Election Day. It was properly postmarked--there were NO ballots without a postmark. The one absentee ballot had been cast for Koether, so the official totals from Clayton County were Kayla Koether 567 votes, Michael Bergan 582 votes.

When Clayton County's Recount Board met, they personally inspected all ballots from the three townships and agreed that one more ballot which had previously been disallowed should be counted. That ballot was also for Kayla Koether.

That means Koether picked up two votes in total from Clayton County—but she is still trailing Bergan by nine votes from the entire Iowa House District 55. That's why the court hearing in Des Moines on Thursday involves just Winneshiek County and the 29 absentee ballots which the US Postal Service says were mailed before Election Day.