Van Buren County election staff say training encouraged hand counts for general election

An election official told the Van Buren County Quorum Court that training participants recommended conducting hand counts and that the county plans to use hand counts for the upcoming general election.

The official said the idea was supported during training: "They actually encouraged us and told us that they wanted hand counts," and added county staff are still defining procedures, for example taking "batches" of precincts rather than counting every ballot individually across all precincts. The official said the county will not perform hand counts for the primary but intends to do so for the general election.

Why it matters: Hand counts change the mechanics of post-election processing and can affect timing and staffing for election certification. County officials said they are still determining operational details.

Next steps: The official did not provide a timeline or final procedures; further planning and staff direction were indicated but not specified at the meeting.