Nearly 96 years ago, Wapello County officials discovered an unusual election oversight that made headlines across Iowa.
According to an Associated Press report published in the November 14, 1930, edition of The Daily Iowan, county officials discovered that 90 absentee ballots had been left out of the original election canvass following the November 4 general election.
The ballots were reportedly found in a separate compartment from 50 other ballots that had already been counted. The discovery came after the Wapello County Board of Supervisors had completed its official election canvass on November 10.
The situation was brought to the attention of Iowa Attorney General John Fletcher, who instructed county officials to count the additional 90 ballots.
According to the newspaper report, Wapello County officials indicated that none of the election races were close enough for the additional ballots to have changed the outcomes.
The newspaper did not provide the final results of the additional ballot count or explain exactly how the ballots became separated from the others.
The incident serves as a reminder that election administration and ballot-counting procedures have been important issues throughout Iowa’s history.
Although the discovery happened nearly a century ago, this little-known piece of Wapello County history remains an interesting chapter in the community’s past.
