FRANKFORT, Ky. - The results from Kentucky's general election are now official.
The State Board of Elections met Thursday and the main agenda item was certifying the vote totals from the November 5 election. This was the last step in the process of making the results official.
The unanimous vote by the board Thursday is the last step in the process towards making the results official.
Governor Matt Bevin questioned the integrity of the vote counting process several times after the election, seeking a recanvass of the vote total. He conceded as the recanvass process was wrapping up November 14, despite claiming again that thousands of absentee ballots were not counted properly.
The Secretary of State’s office notified the Board of Elections earlier this week that there were still discrepancies in four counties that affected three races, but State Board of Elections Executive Director Jared Dearing said those changes were reflected in what the board approved Thursday.
“We’re talking about a human process, a human process that takes counts from the precinct level and then enters them onto a piece of paper, they write them down, they then upload those onto the computer for election night returns and then they have to file and send that form in,” Dearing said. “But again, that’s why those unofficial results are labeled unofficial on election night, because we what we want is a clarity to that process.”
The errors the Secretary of State’s office found and were subsequently fixed by the State Board of Elections are as follows:
- Morgan County - Libertarian gubernatorial candidate John Hicks received 96 votes instead of the original 86 that were reported.
- Allen County - Republican Secretary of State candidate Michael Adams received 3,868 votes instead of the original 2,868 that were reported.
- Garrard County - Democratic Secretary of State candidate Heather French Henry received 1,779 votes instead of the original 177 that were reported.
- Monroe County - Libertarian Agriculture Commissioner candidate Josh Gilpin received 35 votes instead of the original 55 that were reported.
None of the discrepancies changed the outcomes of those races.