Data entry error causes problem in Shawnee County

Data entry errors initially caused Shawnee County to leave votes from about 4,400 ballots out of its primary results, but the undercount didn't change the outcome of any races.

Election Commissioner Elizabeth Ensley said workers discovered problems Wednesday morning with returns from 42 of 198 precincts scattered throughout the county. She promised the office would develop a plan for preventing such errors and rechecking tallies, to spot problems earlier.

Ensley declined to say how many workers were involved in the errors, which involved the faulty entry of results from mail-in paper ballots from military personnel and American citizens living overseas. Those ballots were counted by hand.

Ensley's disclosure of the problems raised questions about the margin in the hotly contested Republican primary in the 2nd Congressional District, where State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins narrowly defeated former Rep. Jim Ryun.

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