The final tally of Arizona’s 5th Congressional District (CD5) republican primary could change yet again. A court ruling Friday morning means 18 more ballots will be counted the in the tight election.
In his ruling on the request for a temporary injunction in the certification of the CD5 election results, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Joshua Rogers ordered the Recorder’s office to process and count the additional ballots before delivering the final results to the Secretary of State.
Elizabeth Bartholomew with the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office said election officials are going through 18 ballots to restore the appropriate votes.
"We have to compare the precinct that they voted in to the correct precinct in which they are registered," Bartholomew said. "We will compare the races, which ones they are qualified to vote in and which ones they are not.”
The individuals listed in the Judge’s ruling unwittingly went to the wrong precinct to vote, but poll workers told them they could cast a provisional ballot anyway and their vote would count. Under Arizona state law, those ballots in fact do not count.
The latest vote count showed former Go Daddy executive Christine Jones current trailing Arizona Senate President Andy Biggs by nine votes in the election.
The recorder's office will transmit the new vote tally to the secretary of state on Monday. The county will then conduct a recount of Republican primary results due to the closeness of the race.
