When the votes were totaled on election night for the Bakersfield school board, Christopher Bales had been elected to the board with 104 votes, but the other two candidates, Michael Scott and Mike Zimmer, were tied for the second seat with 100 votes each. According to the Ozark County Times, After the election was certified by Ozark County Clerk Brian Wise, the official vote totals stood at 101 for Zimmer and 100 for Scott, which means Bales and Zimmer are the newly elected board members. Three write-in votes were also cast.In a message to Bakersfield superintendent Amy Britt, Wise explained the change in the vote count from the unofficial election night total to the certified total:
The change in the School Board election came from a Provisional Ballot that was voted at the Dawt Precinct. This was the first Election in Ozark County where a photo I.D. was required. By statute, there are 3 scenarios for people to vote (as far as having I.D. goes):
Option 1: The Voter shows a photo I.D. from a state or federal source
Option 2: The Voter shows a Voter I.D. Card, Utility Bill, Bank Statement, Student I.D., etc. and signs a statement.
Option 3: The Voter shows nothing and votes a provision ballot.
?(All options require the voter to be a registered voter in the precinct they are voting.)
When a voter uses option 3, the ballot is put into a separate envelope that requires one of the following to happen for that ballot to be counted:
1. The voter returns to the polls during the election (between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m.) with one of the legal forms of I.D.
2. The Election Authority verifies the voters identity by comparing the signature on the envelope to the signature on their voter registration.
be properly registered in the polling place which they voted, then the ballot will be counted.
Wise did not say which of these two provisional ballot procedures occurred, but the ballot was counted, giving Zimmer the one-vote edge over Scott, the incumbent.
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