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By JONATHAN ROOS, JOHN McCORMICK and LYNN OKAMOTO REGISTER STAFF
WRITERS Copyright, 2000, Des Moines Register and Tribune Company
Texas Gov. George W. Bush has cut into Vice President Al Gore's lead in Iowa by 889 votes,
based on a revised count Monday of presidential balloting in nearly two-thirds of the state's
99 counties.
Gore had a 5,069-vote lead in Iowa, according to unofficial election night returns. A new
survey of county auditors by The Des Moines Register shows Gore's lead has dropped to
4,180, in an election in which more than 1.3 million Iowans voted. Bush received a big boost
from Sioux County, where officials reported a data entry error had resulted in inflated totals
for Gore. The state's total vote margin is almost certain to change again today when more
votes are officially reported.
The Register survey showed Bush picking up 2,131 votes statewide, compared with 1,242
for Gore. The survey represents roughly 52 percent of the ballots cast in Iowa for the two
candidates. The Bush campaign has raised the possibility of recounts in Iowa and a few other
states narrowly won by Gore if Democratic challenges to the election outcome in Florida
persist.
Bush's 889-vote gain in Iowa is based on a comparison of Monday's revised vote tabulations
with unofficial election results collected last week by the Associated Press and the Register.
Counties have until today to revise their election results and make them official. Total votes
are being updated to include the counting of absentee ballots that arrived in the mail by noon
Monday, as well as ballots that had been challenged because of voter residency
questions or other problems.
Some county boards of supervisors met Monday to review and approve final tallies from last
Tuesday's election. The remainder will meet today. Bush's campaign representatives and state
GOP officials were closely monitoring the certification. The presidential candidates have until
Friday to request a recount of county votes. State GOP Chairman Kayne Robinson said the
party would make a recount recommendation to Bush Wednesday morning, after
the county canvasses were completed.
The biggest vote swing helping Bush took place in Sioux County, a Republican stronghold.
Gore lost 890 votes and Bush gained 32 votes when county officials double-checked their
election results Monday. Sioux County Auditor Dennis Lange, a Republican, said the
discrepancy came from a data entry problem on election night. He said one precinct in
Orange City inadvertently listed Gore as having the same number of votes as Bush. The new
totals, which show Bush winning 12,234 to 2,148, were expected to become official when
the Sioux County Board of Supervisors meets today.
The GOP had questioned results in Sioux County, where Republicans outnumber Democrats
in voter registration 14,173 to 1,831. "Sioux County is probably one of the most Republican
counties in the United States," said Mark Lundberg, the county's co-chairman of the Bush
campaign. State Democratic Chairman Rob Tully said he was not concerned about the
change in Sioux County's tally. "This is much ado about nothing until we know what the final
vote's going to be in Florida," he said. The error in Sioux County came on the heels of one in
Scott County, where there was a miscommunication last week between the county auditor
and secretary of state's office. The state made a correction Friday that resulted in about
2,000 more votes for Gore.
Eric Bakker, a spokesman for Iowa Secretary of State Chet Culver, explained Monday that
county auditors report their unofficial results by fax. He said results for Scott County "came
through scrunched" and were hard to read. Monday's ballot review included the latest tally in
Dubuque County, Iowa's sixth most-populous county. In that county, Gore padded his lead
over Bush by 22 votes, giving the vice president a 5,851-vote advantage in the heavily
Democratic county. The Dubuque County results are not yet official.
They are subject to an administrative recount of absentee ballots because of a voting-machine
malfunction on election night, said Deputy Auditor Tom O'Neill. The recount will be today,
he said. Gore recorded a net gain of 140 votes in Polk County, where final results also will be
certified today. If Bush does ask for a recount in Iowa, he could ask for a recount in all
counties or just in selected counties. One option would be to request a recount in the state's
largest counties.
Just 38 Iowa counties accounted for 75 percent of Iowa's presidential vote last week. Culver
is seeking an opinion from Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller on how much bond Bush
would be required to post for a recount, should there be more than a 1 percentage-point
difference in vote totals. It was unclear Monday whether the bond would be
$1,000 for the entire state or $1,000 for each county. Statewide results do not become
official until Dec. 4.
Reporter Jonathan Roos can be reached roosj@news.dmreg.com
Paul Geary
David Rogers