HUNTINGTON -- The review of provisional ballots cast in Cabell County during last week's primary election was stalled again Monday as the Cabell County Commission failed to produce a quorum.
Only one commissioner attended Monday's meeting, and the other two were on vacation.
Though state law stipulates the commission has to meet three days following the May 13 primary election, a scheduling conflict required the board to convene shortly on Friday and meet again the following Monday to review the election results. Only commissioner Bob Bailey attended the Monday morning meeting.
Bailey scheduled the commission to reconvene at 9 a.m. today, May 20, in the Cabell County Courthouse because Cartmill and Bias were on vacation.
It is the responsibility of the county commission to go over the provisional ballots. The Board of Canvassers, as it is known, is required by law to review the ballots, results and equipment before the election results are certified. The commission members are Bailey, who lost in the Democratic primary for Huntington mayor; Scott Bias, who lost in the Democratic primary for sheriff; and Nancy Cartmill, a Republican who ran unopposed for commissioner in the May 13 republican primary.
Chris Tatum, assistant county manager, said Cartmill is still expected to be out today but the attendance of two commissioners will make a quorum and allow the board to review the election results. Bias is expected to meet with Bailey today to begin the canvassing process.
Bias and Cartmill said they scheduled their vacation before they knew about the Board of Canvassers schedule. Limited vacation reservations made it difficult for the board to meet after the election, Bias and Cartmill said.
"The law says you have to have a meeting on Friday, which we did. I opened up it up and reconvened it for Monday," Cartmill said. "(The law) doesn't say how long it has to take for us to finish (the review process). It only says that we have to convene every day until there's a quorum."
State code stipulates that certified results shall be filed with the Secretary of State's office no later than 30 days after the election.
Provisional ballots are issued for when a voter is not registered, his or her signature does not match the one in the poll book or when the poll book indicates the person has already voted during the early or absentee voting period.
Though all the commissioners ran in the primary election they are reviewing, they cannot recuse himself from the process because it is their legal duty to review the votes.
If voters were required to vote a provisional ballot, they may call the Secretary of State's Office at 866-SOS-VOTE (1-866-767-8683) or 304-558-6000 after the canvass to find out if their vote was counted.
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