Commission race could change depending on paper and provisional ballots still out

Voters cast their ballots Tuesday after waiting for some time in long lines. Parowan City, Utah, Nov. 8, 2016 | Photo by Tracie Sullivan, St. George / Cedar City News
Commissioner Alma Adams
Commissioner Alma Adams was reported as the winner of the Iron County Commission race Seat C Wednesday morning. | Photo courtesy of Commissioner Alma Adams, St. George / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY – Iron County reported winners in the commission race early Wednesday morning but there are still many votes to count that may change the outcome of the races, officials said.

Tuesday brought out hundreds of voters to the polls who waited in line for up to three hours. Many of those voters turned in provisional and paper ballots that election officials still need to count in order to have a final tally, Iron County Clerk Jon Whittaker said.

“I’m not sure whether the numbers could change,” Whittaker said. “There are quite a few provisional ballots, and many paper ballots still left to count.”

In the Iron County Commission race for Seat A, the votes Wednesday at around 1 a.m. showed Republican candidate Mike Bleak won the race with 2,690 votes or 68 percent. His opponent Democratic candidate Scott Truman received 32 percent of the vote with 1,266 votes.

Early reports show Mike Bleak won the Iron County Commission race for Seat A Wednesday morning. | Photo courtesy of Mike Bleak, St. George / Cedar City News
Early reports show Mike Bleak won the Iron County Commission race for Seat A Wednesday morning. | Photo courtesy of Mike Bleak, St. George / Cedar City News

In the county commission race for Seat C, early reports showed the incumbent, Republican candidate Alma Adams as the winner. Adams received 63 percent of the vote with 2,412 votes compared to his opponents Wayne Hall and Kenneth Bauer.

Hall ran on the Libertarian ticket and received 22 percent of the vote with 849 votes. Bauer received 14 percent with 545 votes.

Several Iron County residents expressed anger on Facebook Tuesday for having to wait in line for hours to vote. There was also a lot of confusion about the mail-in ballots that were used for the first time in Iron County in a presidential election.

Whittaker was not immediately available early Wednesday as this report publishes to discuss these issues.

Ed. note: The Iron County Commissioner’s race seats were incorrectly identified. Changes have been made to reflect the correct information.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @tracie_sullivan

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2016, all rights reserved.

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