Four of five state senators looking into the errors were satisfied with the explanations Tuesday and after several hours of testimony, they rejected a request by Sen. Theresa Manzella, R-Hamilton, for further investigation.
Manzella called the errors a "catastrophic failure" and said she wasn't "100% sure" explanations by Linda Sajor-Joyce, Butte- Silver Bow's clerk and recorder, were the actual reasons behind an overcount of more than 1,100 votes.
But two Republican senators — Mike Cuffe of Eureka and Shelley Vance of Belgrade — joined Butte Democrats Edie McClafferty and Ryan Lynch in voting against Manzella's call.
The Senate committee will continue to explore changes to safeguard elections and vote-counting procedures, but it won't pursue a deeper dive into what occurred in Butte-Silver Bow County.
Committee members watched the recent recount process in Butte and she felt comfortable with the results, McClafferty said.
"I feel that Mrs. Sajor has explained herself and her process and what has happened, and I feel confident with that," McClafferty said.
Vance, Cuffe and Lynch agreed.
"We have plowed this ground," Cuffe said.
Lynch said the committee "has gone down this rabbit hole with Butte-Silver Bow" and "it's time to start looking forward."
A judge ordered a recount of the June 4 primary in Butte-Silver Bow because election officials believed about 1,000 ballots were inadvertently run through voting machines twice on election night.
According to previous "official" results, 12,077 ballots were counted on June 4. All ballots were run through a voting machine during an Aug. 20 recount, and the total was 10,934, a difference of 1,143 ballots.
The recount changed some vote totals but the bottom line in key races remained the same. In countywide and council races with more than two candidates, the same two advanced to the Nov. 5 general election.
Sajor-Joyce noted that in the race for county attorney, the recount showed Kelli Fivey getting more primary votes than Matt Enrooth, but they were the only two candidates so both advanced regardless.
County election officials say they did a deeper investigation into the errors and can now account for most of them.
Sajor-Joyce said the biggest error occurred because votes from a test run done five days before the election were not fully erased from a computer used to report results. Because of that, votes from 33 test ballots in each of the county's 31 precincts were counted on election night.
In three precincts, an additional 32 votes were counted because an election official plugged a memory stick with test data into the reporting computer, instead of a thumb drive used when starting the system, she said.
That person quickly realized the mistake and removed the wrong memory stick, Sajor-Joyce said, but some test votes in three precincts remained in the system.
An additional 11 votes were reported in one precinct, and although election officials aren't sure of why, they suspect those ballots were inadvertently run through the voting machine twice.
More safeguards in computer software, clearly marked memory sticks and additional training for election staff could help prevent such problems in the future, Sajor-Joyce said. But she and her staff could help matters, too, she said.
"Sometimes we are rushing things more than we should," she said.
The senators are members of a committee that Jason Ellsworth, Republican president of the Montana Senate, appointed to investigate the apparent miscount and recommend changes in state law to prevent such things in the future.
Several citizens spoke at the end Tuesday's committee hearing and questioned the use of voting machines and the integrity of Montana's elections.
The committee will continue to explore improvements and could ultimately recommend changes to guidelines and state laws, Cuffe, the Eureka lawmaker, said.
Regina Plettenberg is the clerk and recorder in Ravalli County and heads the legislative committee for the Montana Association of Clerks and Recorders. She suggested legislators focus on improvements to the post-election canvassing process and ways of catching discrepancies.
"But I will also say this," she told the senators. "We can pass as many laws as you want, and can I tell you (we) will never, ever make a mistake? ... No election administrator can."
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