Ever wonder what happens if a person shows up at the polls to vote, but the address on their identification doesn’t match the address in the polling books?  Or, if a voter shows up to vote in one precinct but is registered to vote in another?  Polling staff should have directed the voter to the correct precinct . . . but if the polls were about to close or if the voter insisted on voting where they were at, these voters are given provisional ballots.

Saline County Clerk Don Merriman said that 95 provisional ballots were cast in last week’s primary.  The voter marked a paper ballot; then the ballot is sealed in a large manila envelope.  On the outside, an explanation is written.

As required by law, Saline County Commissioners met today and reviewed the circumstances related to last week’s provisional ballots.  This is known as canvassing the vote.

For the 61 voters who had address disconnects that were in the same precinct, their votes were counted by scanner.  These voters completed new voter registration cards so the polling books will be correct for the November election.

For those who insisted on voting at a location other than their registered precinct, Commissioners decided to count that individual’s choices for the races in the U.S. Senate, U.S. House, State Senate, County Registrar of Deeds, County Treasurer, County Attorney, and County Sherriff.  Commissioners did not count votes for races in the State House, County Commission or Precinct Committee Persons.

For the four registered Libertarians who insisted on voting, their votes weren’t counted in either the Republican or Democrat party races.  Two individuals voted provisionally but did not have proper identification.  Since they did not bring proper identification to the County Clerk’s office by 9:00 AM today, their votes were not counted.

One voter had been given a ballot to the incorrect precinct in a location where three precincts voted at the same site.  This individual’s choices were counted.

Merriman said he hoped to post a precinct-by-precinct breakdown of the updated vote tallies on the county’s website within a few days.    Merriman said 25.75 of registered voters voted last Tuesday.