Provisional ballots push Butte High levy to passage by 3 votes

MIKE SMITH

A count of provisional ballots Monday pushed an $850,000 property tax increase for the Butte School District and Butte High School to passage by three votes after the measure tied last week.

The initial unofficial count on election night May 7 was 3,782 in favor of the 8.46 mill levy and 3,782 opposed. The measure would have failed if the tie vote held up.

But Butte-Silver Bow elections officials rejected 163 ballots in the school election for various reasons, including some not being signed or signatures not matching those on file. They said they contacted as many of those voters as they could and some came in and got the discrepancies resolved.

On Monday, those provisional ballots were opened and there were 12 votes in favor of the levy and nine against, meaning it passed by three votes — 3,794 to 3,791.

It’s not a done deal yet. Because the margin was so slim, the Butte School Board could ask for a recount and so could citizens who opposed the tax increase.

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