Poulson defeated Danny Walz, who is unaffiliated politically, in Oct. 11's primary election by two votes. The narrow margin prompted election officials to recount the ballots, returning the same two-vote lead in Poulson's favor.

But on Monday night there was a second recount that included 23 absentee ballots that had been tossed aside because they had arrived in the election office after the noon deadline on Oct. 11, said County Clerk Sherrie Swenson.

During the second tally, Poulson picked up one vote in his victory over Waltz after 13 of the 23 ballots were posted toward the District 7 race. The races for Districts 1 and 5 each received five additional ballots.

While those races were not likely to be affected by the five extra ballots, the District 7 race, with its narrow margin, held the possibility of a different outcome.

The ballots were discovered on Wednesday by Assistant Elections Manager Roseanne Mitchell, who noticed they were properly postmarked by the Oct. 3 deadline. Their delay to the election office was caused by a lack of mail service on Oct. 10 - Columbus Day, a federal holiday. By Friday, the City Council had reviewed the situation and agreed to allow the ballots to be counted.

"It's always beneficial to give the benefit of the doubt to the voter. Through no fault of their own [the ballots] didn't get to the county government center before noon on the day of the canvass," Swenson said.

She was pleased with the decision by the City Council to allow the votes to be added to the primary election results. "It was the right thing to do," she said.

James Evans, Salt Lake County Republican Party chairman, seized on the recount, saying it is "just another example of incompetence in the county clerk's office. An investigation by the Lieutenant Governor's Office or Federal Elections Commission may be warranted on this matter."

mwestley@sltrib.com