Write-in votes put two in sheriff election

Elections are often full of surprises, and this 2013 primary election is no different.

Incumbent Sheriff Mark Howie, who is running for sheriff, was the only candidate on the ballot, but thanks to 16 write-in votes, there will be two on the general election ballot.

State law now provides that a candidate running for a partisan office will appear on the primary ballot, even if that candidate is the only candidate for the office. Howie, running as an Independent, received 750 out of 800 votes.

Sheriff's Department Detective Mike Balch, who wasn't seeking the office, received 16 write-in votes. A write-in candidate automatically advances to the general election if he or she receives 1 percent of the primary election vote. The 16 write-in votes were 2 percent of the votes counted Tuesday.

Auditor and Chief Elections Officer Diane Tischer said 75 votes had arrived too late to be counted Tuesday; elections officials will count them and any others that arrive by Thursday, 9 a.m.

Tischer said the election will cost the county close to $8,000. Voter turnout for the primary was 30 percent of the county's registered voters.