Allen Parish clerk of court says voting issues being handled by the books

ALLEN PARISH, La. (KPLC) - A viewer reached out to us about a problem at a polling site in Allen Parish on Election Day. Parish officials told us everything was handled and done by the books.

“Our voting process is good and secure, and this was an honest mistake,” Clerk of Court Stacey Hurst said.

Hurst said around 2 p.m. Saturday, she was told that a person wasn’t able to vote for a particular candidate for District 4 police juror.

“When they called the registrar’s office, they verified that person should have been able to vote for that candidate,” Hurst said.

She explained the books had been swapped between two precincts in Ward 2, 6 and 6A.

“The notes were documented at the precinct, the time, the voter, how many voters it had affected, and then everything from then to the end of the night was correct,” Hurst said.

Hurst said both candidates, Joe Perkins and Robert Cole, were notified and made aware of the process of a recount or a contest suit to be filed. The deadline for a request to recount was today by 4:30, and at last word, there was no request by either candidate.

Twenty-three votes were affected, but without the mistake, Perkins still had a 13-vote lead. Perkins received 291 votes to Cole’s 255.

Hurst said this was an honest mistake, and one she said was handled immediately with direction by the secretary of state’s office.

“We tried to be as transparent with the candidates as we could to let them know what happened and what their options were going forward,” she said.

Either candidate has until Monday at 4:30 p.m. to file a contest suit. Hurst said there is normally a filing fee, but in this instance, it will be waived.

There was also a malfunctioning voting machine in Ward 3, but that situation was handled by swapping the machine with a working one. Hurst said nothing was lost, but the incident was reported and documented.

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