Absentee ballots change school board outcome

Proving the adage "every vote counts," official vote results from a Cape Girardeau School Board race changed one winner from the unofficial results after Tuesday's voting.

Tony Smee, who on election night appeared to have kept his seat on the board by edging out Missy Nieveen Phegley by two votes, came up five votes short after all absentee ballots had been counted.

On election night, Smee's vote total was 1,708. When elections officials released the officially certified vote totals Friday, his total had crept up to 1,715. However, Phegley's election-night total of 1,706 grew to 1,720, providing her a five-vote win.

Tony Smee

In a statement sent Friday, Smee praised the county's elections personnel.

"After eleven additional absentee ballots were counted on Thursday, Missy Phegley and I were tied. Because of the tie, our County Clerk's election team hand counted each ballot cast for the Cape school board race to verify voter intent. That required a team of judges to examine each ballot to see if anyone indicated their vote by a check mark, or a circled oval, or any other indication that the ballot machine couldn't read," he said. "That's how our system is supposed to work, and Kara Clark Summers made sure it did. My hat is off to her and her staff and volunteers for a dedicated and professional election."

Jared Ritter and Casey Cook won the other two seats up for grabs Tuesday night with 2,088 and 1,912 votes, respectively.