LIBBY - Lincoln County has had to resort to counting all of the ballots cast in Tuesday's Montana Primary Election by hand.
The hand count is underway because the ballots were cut too short and will not work in the automatic counting machines.
Elections officials note this will delay the election results and hope to have all of the ballots will be counted by Friday.
The results could make a difference in the close race for the Republican primary for the House District 1 seat.
Unofficial results from the Montana Secretary of State’s Office late Wednesday morning showed Ryan Zinke leading Al "Doc" Olszewski, by a 41%-to-40% margin with 69% of precincts reporting.
There were a total of five Republicans on the primary ballot for Montana’s western congressional district.
Developing story. Check back for updates.
-information from Kiana Wilson
