CLACKAMAS COUNTY, Ore. — The major printing error that resulted in Clackamas County workers hand-copying ballots for weeks after the May primary election has been followed by a series of subsequent problems, The Oregonian was first to report on Friday, including incorrect unofficial results that were reported to the Oregon Secretary of State's office.
A spokesperson for that office confirmed Friday that the unofficial results of a couple of the races in the county were misreported to their office on Thursday, as the Clackamas County elections office has been updating the unofficial results by hand.
Those errors have since been spotted and fixed — and in the end, will not impact the official results.
A Secretary of State's office highlighted the fact that the results reporting websites are unofficial results that are completely separate from the official results that certify the election.
The spokesperson told KGW that Clackamas County is submitting unofficial results by hand because the automatic reporting system — which most counties in Oregon use — didn't work for them. They went on to confirm that Clackamas was the only county that did not complete the minimum testing requirements to report unofficial results.
Since May 17, Election Day, Clackamas County workers have been copying the thousands of misprinted ballots onto fresh, unmarred ballot sheets. They were poised to finish that work this week — more than two weeks after the election, but short of the June 13 certification deadline.
At first, it was only Clackamas County election workers copying the ballots, but the slow pace of duplication immediately caused an uproar. Since then, county workers from a number of different departments have been deputized in shifts to aid in the tedious process.
Much of the scrutiny for the litany of errors this election has fallen on Clackamas County Clerk Sherry Hall, an official first elected to the office in 2002. This is not the first time that she's been embroiled in election-related controversy.
As of Friday night, Clackamas County had not said if they had finished counting ballots — despite indications that they would finish this week — and did not respond to requests for more information.