Keokuk, IA – There were eight people seeking four seats on the Keokuk School Board during the September 13th election.
Once the polls were closed and the vote totals were called in, Lee County's website showed the winners of the seats were John Davis (394 votes), Sandy Stark (376), Mark Pfaffe (367) and Chris Lindner (353).
Auditor Anne Pedersen announced that was wrong, two days later, through a news release.
She says the top four are now Pfaffe (475), Mike Beaird (422), Stark (383), and Davis (368).
Pedersen says vote totals from Keokuk's four election precincts were incorrectly entered into the county's website.
She says the employee inputting the data did not realize the ballot position for each candidate shifted from precinct to precinct.
Pedersen says her staff did not notice the website error until Wednesday afternoon.
She says that is when the actual receipts from each voting machine were tabulated.
Pedersen says she called Beaird and Lindner to apologize for the confusion in the website reporting.
She says she understands how difficult it could be to think you lost and then you won as she has been a candidate on many occasions.
Pedersen says this will not impact the canvassing of the election by the Lee County Board of Supervisors.
Election Night Results
John Davis - 394 (14.1%)
Sandy Stark [Inc] - 376 (13.5%)
Mark Pfaffe [Inc] - 367 (13.2%)
Chris Lindner [Inc] - 353 (12.7%)
Gary Seyb, Jr. - 350 (12.6%)
Cheri Kelly - 328 (11.8%)
Mike Beaird [Inc] - 308 (11.1%)
Barb Carlson - 301 (10.8%)
New Results as of September 15
Mark Pfaffe [Inc] - 475 (16.9%)
Mike Beaird [Inc] - 422 (15.0%)
Sandy Stark [Inc] - 383 (13.7%)
John Davis - 368 (13.1%)
Barb Carlson - 358 (12.7%)
Chris Lindner [Inc] - 317 (11.3%)
Gary Seyb, Jr. - 310 (11.0%)
Cheri Kelly - 169 (6.0%)
Mediapolis School District
Meanwhile, the write-in votes have been counted in two races for seats on the Mediapolis School Board.
Steve Nelson has won the District #2 seat after receiving 74 of the 141 votes cast. There was no official candidate on the ballot in this race.
Nelson will be joined on the board by Toni Coates. Coates' 140 write-in votes easily outdistanced the lone candidate in the race.
Mediapolis voters also agreed to increase their property tax bills to pay for infrastructure improvements.
Residents approved a 10-year physical plant and equipment levy, not to exceed $0.67/$1,000 of assessed valuation.
The referendum also allows for a personal income surtax of not more than 6%.