A long night to tally ballots in Grand Forks

(KNOX) – “We had voters!” came the cry at the Grand Forks County Auditor’s Office.

The polls were to close at 7 p.m., but long lines at the Alerus Center, Hope Church, ICON Architects and Runnings put the close behind by up to two hours.

The tally from the rural precincts and one of four voting centers were tabulated. When ballots slowly poured in, they were stacked, packed and sealed, and they will stay that way for 22 months under state law, opened only by a judge’s order. Then it’s on to the landfill, again under state law.

In East Grand Forks, the pack-and-store ballots are retained for 22 months.

When the clock struck 8 p.m., election workers at East Grand Forks City Hall declared, “The polls are closed!”

“We were just steady all day long,” one poll worker expressed. “No problems with voter behavior.  We couldn’t ask for a better day.”

Next came a ruffle through the ballots for qualified write-in candidates from Wards 1 through 5.  Tammy Schumacher outdistanced Paul Arens for Ward 1 on East Grand Forks City Council.