Two ballot irregularities in East Chattanooga precinct

Kerry Steelman is administrator of Elections at the Hamilton County Election Commission offices near Amnicola Highway.
Kerry Steelman is administrator of Elections at the Hamilton County Election Commission offices near Amnicola Highway.

There were a couple of ballot irregularities today in East Chattanooga concerning the District 4 School Board race.

Election officials said two people in East Chattanooga received ballots that didn't offer school board candidates from their district.

Two Hamilton County commissioners went to the precinct to make sure the problem was corrected, said elections administrator Kerry Steelman.

The problem was human error with no intention to deceive, said Jerry Summers, who led today's Hamilton County Election Committee meeting.

It happened because the ballots for East Chattanooga 1 and 2 were identical except for the school board district. East Chattanooga 1 is District 4 and East Chattanooga 2 is School Board District 5.

Steelman said the problem was brought to the commissions' attention at about 9:30 a.m. when someone called to say they did not have their school board member on their ballot. The commissioners looked up the voter's ballot and saw the error. Then they checked through other ballots and found the other error.

Summers said the only way it could be a significant problem is if the District 4 school board race is decided by only two votes.

The votes for all races will be certified Aug. 22, Summers said.

Upcoming Events