Former President Donald Trump was declared the president-elect after he secured a win in Wisconsin early Wednesday morning, while local ballots for Story County will be recounted — including two races decided by less than 13 votes — after machine failure.

The presidential election outcome is primarily decided, with all states except Nevada and Arizona called. Results in these two states are still pending and both are leaning red. Trump, 78, is the oldest president-elect in American history.

According to the Associated Press, Trump leads Vice President Kamala Harris 55.9% to her 42.7% in Iowa. 

After not reporting any results until after 4 a.m. Wednesday, unofficial results from Story County’s 2024 general election show high voter turnout, with more than 70% of registered voters casting ballots.

Several polling places in Story County reported machine failure early on Election Day, forcing election workers to count the ballots by hand after the polls closed at 8 p.m. According to the Des Moines Register, Story County Auditor Lucy Martin said machines at about 12 of the county’s 45 polling locations did not read “certain ballot styles.” 

Martin confirmed Wednesday that an “administrative recount” is scheduled for later this week to ensure the accuracy of election results, according to KCCI.

All 45 county precincts have reported, with 49,653 ballots cast from the county’s 70,204 registered voters. 

Harris received 26,702 votes in Story County while Trump had 21,567, according to the Iowa Secretary of State 2024 general election website.

The Iowa Secretary of State website reports in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, incumbent Rep. Randy Feenstra (R) defeated Ryan Melton (D). The AP called the race at 9:45 p.m. Tuesday. Feenstra has represented the district since 2021.

Local unofficial results for Iowa Legislature

In the House District 51, Story County GOP Chair Brett Barker (R) defeated Ryan Condon (D) by 2,753 votes. 

Incumbent Rep. Ross Wilburn (D) was unopposed in House District 50 and kept his seat with 97.01% of the vote. 

For House District 49, incumbent Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell (D) defeated Eric Cooper (L), 7,485 votes to 2,635.

In House District 48, Chad Behn (R) led opponent Penny Vossler (D) by just five votes in the initial unofficial results.

In the Senate races, incumbent Jesse Green (R), for Senate District 24, led Margaret Liston (D) by 12 votes. 

For Senate District 26, Kara Warme (R) won 61.46% of 13,681 total votes to defeat Mike Wolfe (D). 

In Senate District 28, Dennis Guth (R) defeated Cynthia Oppedal Paschen (D) 55.61% to 44.15%.

County offices

In Story County races, Latifah Faisal, the Democratic candidate for the Board of Supervisors, ran unopposed. She has served as a supervisor since 2021.

Story County Auditor Lucy Martin (D), Supervisor Latifah Fasial (D) and Sheriff Paul H. Fitzgerald (D) all ran unopposed and were reelected to their county-wide positions.

For the Story County Public Hospital trustees, voters selected Sue Crum, Gaylan Scofield and David Anderson. 

In the County Agricultural Extension Council race, Abby Maxwell, Barbara Woods, Allison Coughenour and Cathy Frey were the top four candidates. Marisue Hartung was selected as the vacancy council member for County Agricultural Extension.

Non-Partisan Offices

Voters selected three candidates for the District Commissioner for Soil and Water Conservation, which works to protect natural resources and manages projects related to soil health, water quality and conservation. Mark Tjelmeland, Kayla Bergman and Alisha Bower were selected.

Public Measures

Public Measure A was supported by 77.75% of Story County voters. The measure, the Story County Water and Land Legacy bond, will allow Story County to issue up to $25 million for water quality, parks and conservation projects. The measure needed 60% yes votes to be approved.

Iowa Constitutional Amendment 1, which lowers the voting age from 21 to 18 and prohibits non-citizens from voting, passed statewide and was approved by 76.24% of voters in Story County. 

Iowa Constitutional Amendment 2, which received 76.24% approval in Story County and also passed statewide, clarifies that the lieutenant governor will become governor if a vacancy occurs and gives the governor the authority to appoint a new lieutenant governor.