Votes in Polk County that were cast in the June primary and August run-off are being looked at by a investigator from the Secretary of State’s office, but local officials said there is no issue and that a computer system problem caused the follow-up from authorities.

Elections Coordinator Brande Coggins said that between the June primary and August run-off elections, hundreds of voters who had requested an absentee ballot but then decided to surrender it and vote on Election Day. She explained that even though Polk County’s system for surrendering the mail-in ballot and have it not count was reported correctly on the local level, the state’s system for tracking absentee ballots didn’t catch them.

So even though no person double voted in results, somehow the state-level system for tracking who has surrendered an absentee ballot didn’t show some of Polk County’s ballots as being surrendered, and showed a person trying to vote twice.

Coggins said after a discussion this morning with the investigator, the Board of Elections has learned that the look into surrendered ballots here is a follow-up and no specific allegations of any wrongdoing have been reported.

She added that the number of people who elected to surrender their absentee ballot for the 2020 general election last Tuesday was much lower than the previous two primary votes in June and August.

Most importantly, she wanted to ensure those who might get a knock on their door that they aren’t in any kind of trouble.

Additional details about the upcoming run-off for the District 2 County Commission seat, and the U.S. Senate seats is still being worked out, and details will be forthcoming.