Reviewing Ford County’s Ballot Reconciliation Process During the 2024 Primary Election [October 2024]

State law requires that poll book check-ins balance with cast ballot totals when the polls close on election night. The supervising poll worker at the polling site is responsible for ensuring these totals balance. If they don’t, the discrepancy must be explained to the election office in writing. We reviewed Ford County’s election records from the 2024 primary election to evaluate Ford County’s ballot reconciliation process. We determined that at 4 of the 5 polling sites, poll book check-ins and the number of votes cast balanced. However, at 1 polling site, voted ballots exceeded poll book check-ins by 1 ballot. This was because poll workers at that polling site did not follow the proper processes. We were also asked to check if Ford County’s poll books contained a declaration on each signature page as required by state law. We found that Ford County’s poll books had a declaration on the signature page, but they did not have the specific language required by state law.