The recount for Amendment 1, the so called “Right to Farm” constitutional amendment, has started. The Secretary of State has the Report of Findings available by county. At this point eleven counties have submitted their recount reports:

Amendment 1

Boone County

As certified 8/25/14: 8960 yes, 18471 no

Recount: 8963 yes, 18476 no

Difference: +3 yes, +5 no

DeKalb County

As certified 8/25/14: 1547 yes, 506 no

Recount: 1549 yes, 507 no

Difference: +2 yes, +1 no

Jasper County

As certified 8/25/14: 8936 yes, 5721 no

Recount: 8933 yes, 5721 no

Difference: -3 yes, +0 no

Laclede County

As certified 8/25/14: 5015 yes, 2103 no

Recount: 5016 yes, 2103 no

Difference: +1 yes, +0 no

Lewis County

As certified 8/25/14: 1185 yes, 609 no

Recount: 1190 yes, 608 no

Difference: +5 yes, -1 no

Moniteau County

As certified 8/25/14: 2471 yes, 868 no

Recount: 2472 yes, 869 no

Difference: +1 yes, +1 no

Nodaway County

As certified 8/25/14: 2704 yes, 1662 no

Recount: 2708 yes, 1664 no

Difference: +4 yes, +2 no

Ozark County

As certified 8/25/14: 1346 yes, 1187 no

Recount: 1347 yes, 1188 no

Difference: +1 yes, +1 no

Stoddard County

As certified 8/25/14: 2955 yes, 1907 no

Recount: 2955 yes, 1907 no

Difference: +0 yes, +0 no

Taney County

As certified 8/25/14: 4374 yes, 4294 no

Recount: 4380 yes, 4296 no

Difference: +6 yes, +2 no

Washington County

As certified 8/25/14: 2068 yes, 1114 no

Recount: 2073 yes, 1119 no

Difference: +5 yes, +5 no

[emphasis added]

“Yes” gained 25 votes, “No” gained 16 votes. There’s a long, long way to go before this is finished.

The Missouri Code of State Regulations [pdf] has a section, Title 15, Division 30, Chapter 9 – “Uniform Counting Standards” which illustrates the standards for counting votes which may not have registered on optical scanning equipment. As one looks at the examples you can understand why this could happen.

There is a tendency for the vote totals to go up when a hand recount takes place – a counting team (it’s a very rigorous process) can distinguish legally cast votes which an optical scanner won’t register (for instance, a circled candidate name or ballot issue response or a circled “bubble”). And let’s not be too hard on the voters who cast such ballots – they don’t vote every day, and ballot marking protocols have changed over time as election authorities have changed their county’s ballot formats.

What should give us pause is when the totals go down. Think about that for a minute.

Previously:

Campaign Finance: $110,000.00 for something they really care about (January 3, 2014)

Campaign Finance: Food fight! (May 28, 2014)

Campaign Finance: Because, across Missouri, family farms are being supplanted by… (June 24, 2014)

Campaign Finance: as if yard signs were actually a cash crop for actual farmers… (June 28, 2014)

Utilizing the First Amendment to challenge our oppressive corporate overlords… (July 2, 2014)

Joe Maxwell – “No” on Amendment No. 1 (July 8, 2014)

Campaign Finance: egg money (July 9, 2014)

Campaign Finance: opposing useless law (July 25, 2014)

Right to farm: read the small print and between the lines (July 25, 2014)

Pinch me, I must be dreaming – Cynthia Davis gets it right on Amendment 1 (July 30, 2014)

Campaign Finance: Big agriculture money keeps pouring in for Amendment 1 (July 31, 2014)

Baker Creek Seed Company – Vote “No” on Amendment 1 (August 3, 2014)

Senator Paul LeVota (D) on Amendment 1 (August 4, 2014)

After all that corporate money this is the best that they can do on Amendment 1? (August 6, 2014)

Amendment 1 – Recount (August 26, 2014)