Jefferson County has been plagued by problems in recent elections and during the May 9 primary election last year, voters in the Huntfield, Briar Run and Fairfax Crossing housing developments in Jefferson County were allowed to vote in the wrong state House of Delegate races.
Huntfield residents were allowed to cast ballots in the 58th delegate district race when they should have cast ballots in the 56th delegate district race. It happened because voters were assigned to the wrong precinct, officials said.
In the Briar Run and Fairfax Crossing subdivisions in Ranson, W.Va., voters in the May primary were allowed to cast ballots in the 58th delegate district race when they should have voted in the 57th house of delegates race.
Voting officials said the problem was corrected and that affected voters were to be notified of the proper precinct in which to vote.
Del. Bob Tabb, D-Jefferson, said he was told after the November general election that some Huntfield residents were directed again to the wrong precinct.
At the time, Maghan said she did not know if any Huntfield residents voted in the wrong precincts. On Thursday, Maghan said she did not believe any Huntfield residents voted in the wrong precinct.
Ben Beakes, chief of staff for Secretary of State Betty Ireland, confirmed Thursday afternoon that Maghan has asked that a procedural audit be conducted on the November election.
The audit will try to determine if something can be implemented to help future elections run smooth, Beakes said.
"That's about all the detail I can give you at this point," Beakes said.
Maghan said the county will rely on GIS technology to determine if precinct maps are accurate. Maghan said the audit could start later this month and the GIS work will take about a week.
GIS, which stands for geographic information system, is a collection of computer hardware, software, and geographic data for capturing, managing, analyzing and displaying all forms of geographically-referenced information.
