The St. Croix Elections Board Thursday evening audited three precincts from the August primary, verifying the results by double checking the original count as well as numbers on all three devices.
At 5:30 p.m., Lilliana Belardo de O’Neal, vice chair, Rupert Ross, Roland Moolenaar and Glen Webster, a quorum of the seven member board, began the process by counting ballots from the Florence Williams Library, St. Gerard’s Hall and Evelyn Williams Elementary School.
“We have taken a random sample of east, west and central,” de O’Neal said.
The ballots are stored in the bottom of the DS200 voting machines, secured by several numbered, plastic seals on the outside of the machine and on the ballot boxes, key-locked inside.
After removing the seals and comparing and recording numbers, the old seals were stored with the judges’ box and tapes that recorded votes and totals. The tapes and seals were compared and recorded. After Moolenaar unlocked the ballot box and removed the seals, he removed the ballots and three board members counted them — first in fives, then by 25 until the total was reached.
“Since we accounted for 107 (St. Gerard’s precinct), we have to use two new seals and we write down the new seals’ numbers. Once we lock the box, if the numbers are different, that means it was tampered with,” de O’Neal said.
Then the ballots were placed back in the box, secured by ties, locked in the machine and secured by more plastic ties. By law, the ballots will be stored for two years on the premises, Ross said. This is the first time the audit has been performed and the board members knew what the procedure would be if the numbers didn’t match.
In each audit, the board’s numbers matched the judges’ from Aug. 2. St. Gerard’s Hall had 107 ballots, Williams School had 140 and 200 ballots in two machines, and Williams library had 220 votes.
In September, the St.Thomas-St. John District Board of Elections conducted a similar ballot audit.
