Worker negligence resulted in ballots left at Chico State
CHICO » The story behind a forgotten official ballot box at Chico State has been traced to worker negligence on Election Day.
The sealed box was located on the Chico State campus Tuesday, and contained 529 ballots that were not counted by the Butte County Clerk-Recorder in the certified results.
Extension sought
Butte County Clerk-Recorder Candace Grubbs petitioned the Butte County Superior Court on Tuesday for an extension to the deadline so those ballots can be included in a re-certification. The office stated the only contest that could be affected is the Measure E: Charter Amendment for Chico.
Grubbs said of the 529 ballots, 501 signatures have been verified. There have been 28 signatures challenged, and notices have been sent to those voters. They will be provided with an opportunity to cure their vote by mail, according to the latest release.
“The short story is on election night at 8 p.m. the box was locked by one of the election workers,” Grubbs said.
“Two other workers were supposed to go out and put the ballots in a secure bag for transportation to our office. That did not happen.”
Grubbs said the ballots have been securely locked in the drop box since Election Day, and it was the last along with a box at city hall to be picked up.
Elections Manager Keaton Denlay said workers who handle the ballots from these boxes are hired from a combination of the Butte County Sheriff’s Office volunteers or extra help hired on as rush personnel. The actual boxes were installed by Chico city staff and Chico State.
“We couldn’t remove them without coordination with those entities,” Denlay said. “It just so happened that one of them wasn’t picked up correctly.”
“If it had been any other box, we would have known right away,” he added.
Denlay added ballots in that box came from all over the county, including Oroville, Durham and Gridley, not just from Chico.
As he is related to one of the Chico candidates, Kami Denlay-Klingbeil (elected to the council officially as of Tuesday), Denlay worked at the office but confirmed he did not have access to the secure rooms used for all ballot counting and handling “for the duration of the election.”
New canvass set
The supplemental canvass for these ballots will begin Monday at 9 a.m. at the Hall of Records in Oroville and will continue until complete. The Clerk-Recorder has conducted an analysis of the ballots contained in this group, according to the release.
Denlay said the voters will have more time to cure their ballots but must turn them in by Friday, Dec. 18. The new election results will be certified after that date.