Update: Johnson County finishes counting 2,000 missed absentee ballots; no outcomes change

REAL DUBUQUE NEWS (RDN) - The Johnson County Auditor's Office has finished counting about 2,000 absentee ballots found unopened in a secure ballot storage room, and the counting did not change any outcomes, KCRG reports. The ballots are included in the total results to be canvassed Tuesday, Nov. 10. Auditor Julie Persons announced Sunday that the counting of 36,138 absentee ballots cast in Tuesday's General Election is complete. The ballots were found still boxed Thursday, Nov. 5, during routine post-election duties. After the discovery, the Auditor's Office immediately informed the Johnson County Attorney's Office and the Iowa Secretary of State's Office, and officials reviewed the situation and set a plan to make sure the voters' ballots would be counted and included in the total results. Tabulating began Friday, Nov. 6, and concluded Sunday, Nov. 8, and the results have been uploaded and can be viewed on the Secretary of State's website. "My office has reviewed the situation and identified how the ballots were overlooked. At no time was the chain of custody broken on these ballots. They remained secure in the ballot storage room," Persons said. "We are updating absentee ballot counting procedures to ensure this does not happen again." The absentee board will reconvene Monday, Nov. 9, to complete the UOCAVA ballots and any provisional ballots that have been cured. The results of the Nov. 3 General Election will be canvassed at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, and the canvass will be streamed and recorded at johnsoncountyiowa.gov/meetings.