Cass County says large number of contests caused election results delay

FARGO (KVRR) – Cass County election officials say the unusual delays in reporting election results Tuesday night “were due to the large number of contests” in the election.

Local polls closed at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, but the first election results weren’t tabulated until hours later.

Election Coordinator DeAnn Buckhouse says the delay was not caused by any issues or failures with equipment.

“With the large number of contests found on the Primary Election ballot, each report took from 90 to 120 minutes to complete and print. Once completed, these totals were brought to the Cass County Courthouse to be tabulated.”

Buckhouse says election officials will work to make the process more efficient for the general election in November to avoid similar delays.