Yesterday's Lockport Union Sun and Journal offered a interesting story about the recount chaos following the close of the polls Tuesday night in Royalton.
Here's a snippet from that story:
It was a reversal of fortunes, Royalton-style.
Confusion reigned in the hotly-contested race for superintendent of highways after the polls closed Tuesday.
An error was made somewhere along the way, and it was reported that Carson Kelley beat incumbent Terry W. Nieman.Nieman actually won 901-705.
Poll watchers discovered the mistake was made in District 6, the Terry’s Corners Fire Hall, but not before radio stations reported Kelley won. It was inspector error, according to Scott Kiedrowski Niagara County Republican Commissioner.
Scott Wymczak, secretary of the town Republican Committee, pinpointed the mistake happened in District 6 after he served as a poll-watcher in Wolcottsville. Nieman and Kelley had poll watchers in each of the six districts.
“We were surprised when we heard news report that Terry lost,” Wymczak said.
“I was kookin’,” said Donna Nieman, the superintendent’s wife and chairman of the Republican Committee. “We thought we won, and didn’t win. Imagine when we saw that on the computer!... I don’t know how that happened. Inspectors call in numbers, and the little boxes are hard to read. There can be human error.”
GOP poll-watcher Jennifer Bieber and her daughter were at Terry’s Corners and correctly reported 139 votes for Nieman and 133 for Kelley. During a huddle at the Nieman home, Wymczak went on the computer and found that the original Board of Elections report gave Nieman only 18 votes.
“Where the snafu happened, I’m not sure,” Wymczak said.
Donna Nieman tried to called the Board of Elections and left messages, but by that time the office had closed. Kiedrowski learned of the mistake, went back to the office, opened suitcases and made the correction.
“You’ve got to commend Board of Elections for their fast results. It didn’t take five minutes to make the correction,” Wymczak said. “The computer read-off slip was right. It was a human error.”
The article is a good read the rest of the way, defining just what a "poll watcher" is and discussing the role of the electronic machines in this situation. Check it out at:
http://www.lockportjournal.com/local/local_story_308233156.html
Here's a snippet from that story:
It was a reversal of fortunes, Royalton-style.
Confusion reigned in the hotly-contested race for superintendent of highways after the polls closed Tuesday.
An error was made somewhere along the way, and it was reported that Carson Kelley beat incumbent Terry W. Nieman.Nieman actually won 901-705.
Poll watchers discovered the mistake was made in District 6, the Terry’s Corners Fire Hall, but not before radio stations reported Kelley won. It was inspector error, according to Scott Kiedrowski Niagara County Republican Commissioner.
Scott Wymczak, secretary of the town Republican Committee, pinpointed the mistake happened in District 6 after he served as a poll-watcher in Wolcottsville. Nieman and Kelley had poll watchers in each of the six districts.
“We were surprised when we heard news report that Terry lost,” Wymczak said.
“I was kookin’,” said Donna Nieman, the superintendent’s wife and chairman of the Republican Committee. “We thought we won, and didn’t win. Imagine when we saw that on the computer!... I don’t know how that happened. Inspectors call in numbers, and the little boxes are hard to read. There can be human error.”
GOP poll-watcher Jennifer Bieber and her daughter were at Terry’s Corners and correctly reported 139 votes for Nieman and 133 for Kelley. During a huddle at the Nieman home, Wymczak went on the computer and found that the original Board of Elections report gave Nieman only 18 votes.
“Where the snafu happened, I’m not sure,” Wymczak said.
Donna Nieman tried to called the Board of Elections and left messages, but by that time the office had closed. Kiedrowski learned of the mistake, went back to the office, opened suitcases and made the correction.
“You’ve got to commend Board of Elections for their fast results. It didn’t take five minutes to make the correction,” Wymczak said. “The computer read-off slip was right. It was a human error.”
The article is a good read the rest of the way, defining just what a "poll watcher" is and discussing the role of the electronic machines in this situation. Check it out at:
http://www.lockportjournal.com/local/local_story_308233156.html
