Cambridge School Committee election results changed after test ballots mistakenly counted

"One candidate was crowned a winner last week, only to get bumped down in the rankings once city officials discovered the ballot-counting error. Cambridge was forced to walk back the preliminary results of last week's School Committee race after the vendor overseeing the city's election system failed to clear more than 2,000 test ballots. Released hours after the polls closed, the unofficial results included 1,370 extra votes for the School Committee, 632 for the City Council, and 156 for a ballot question, city officials said in a later statement."

""The Cambridge Election Commission conducts rigorous and mandatory prequalified testing for every election," the city explained, adding that a "proactive auditing process" determined the test ballots hadn't fully been cleared from the system before the polls opened. When election officials crunched the numbers again, only the School Committee race saw a shakeup; instead of newcomer and former high school teacher Eugenia Schraa Huh, it was incumbent David Weinstein who secured the sixth and final slot. The City Council and ballot question outcomes remained unchanged."

"Schraa Huh learned the news through a phone call from the Election Commission's executive director at about 6:30 p.m. Friday. "It was just really shocking news," she told Boston.com. "Because I actually spent a bunch of time making sure that I understood where I was and looking at the numbers and talking to people who understood our very unique system here in Cambridge of ranked choice voting." Schraa Huh is still considering whether to call for a recount and has a meeting with her lawyer scheduled later this week. In the meantime, she's collected signatures from registered voters across the city just in case."

More than 2,000 test ballots remained in Cambridge's election system when polls opened, producing unofficial results that showed extra votes across multiple contests. The unofficial tally added 1,370 votes to the School Committee, 632 to the City Council, and 156 to a ballot question. A proactive audit identified the uncleared test ballots, and corrected counts produced one race change: incumbent David Weinstein reclaimed the sixth School Committee seat previously announced for Eugenia Schraa Huh. City Council and ballot question results did not change. Schraa Huh received a phone call notifying her of the correction and is weighing a possible recount while consulting legal counsel.

Read at Boston.com