COEUR d'ALENE - Concerns about discrepancies in primary precinct results are unwarranted, assured the Kootenai County clerk on Thursday.

Clerk Cliff Hayes said there has been confusion about the vote totals for some precinct committeemen differing from the precinct tallies for county and state positions.

But comparing the two is like "comparing apples and oranges," Hayes said.

The clerk explained that absentee votes for county, state and national officials are not included in the individual precinct results listed on the county Elections website.

"Those votes are in the absentee precincts results, listed as precincts 71, 72 and 73," Hayes stated in a press release.

The posted results for precinct committeemen, however, include both absentee ballots and votes cast on election day.

"Those absentee votes for the precinct committeemen are not in the precinct tally as the state legislator," Hayes said.

That's not the only reason for different numbers.

Voters in Tuesday's primary were given two ballots, one a paper ballot with party precinct committeeman candidates, the other an optical scan ballot with the public official races.

There is a $2,000 savings, said elections manager Carrie Phillips, by not including the more than 70 precinct committeemen on the optical scan ballot.

But some voters just didn't fill out the precinct committeemen ballots, Phillips said.

Others voted on the committeeman ballots, but disregarded the optical scan ballots.

So the public shouldn't expect tallies of both ballots to be the same, Phillips said.

"We did have a lot of blank precinct committeeman ballots, and blank optical scan ballots," she said.

That appears to be the case with votes for Dan English, the unopposed Democrat candidate for legislative District 2B seat, who also ran unopposed for precinct 5 Democrat committeeman.

Democrat voters in precinct 5 cast 25 votes to make English their committeeman on Tuesday, absentee ballots not included.

But the same precinct Democrat voters cast only 20 votes on election day to give English the legislative seat, despite the lack of alternatives.

"It just seems like that's a real anomaly," English said on Thursday.

Shirley McFaddan, unopposed for precinct 4 Democrat committeeman, earned 19 votes from that precinct for the position, absentee ballots excluded.

But the same precinct Democrats only gave her 17 votes for the District 2 senate seat, for which she is also running unopposed.

There also appear to be such disparities for Barry McHugh, who ran for re-election for prosecuting attorney as well as Republican precinct 41 committeeman.

Precinct 41 Republicans cast 133 Republican votes to make McHugh committeeman, and contributed 150 votes to keep him prosecuting attorney, absentee votes not included.

That, however, could also be due to McHugh being challenged for the committeeman seat, his opponent receiving 58 votes.

English, also former county clerk, wondered if adding precinct committeemen to the optical scan ballot might prompt more voters to fill out everything, despite the added expense.

As clerk, he had combined the ballots as precinct numbers grew, he added.

"My own best guess from experience is if people have just one ballot, they're at least more likely to notice," English said.