Blaine County poll workers were busy on Wednesday counting the more than 2,500 absentee ballots received ahead of the election that helped decide some major local races. Incumbent Democratic Senator Ron Taylor looks to hold his seat with a 367-vote lead. Incumbent Representative Ned Burns is likely to lose his seat to republican Mike Pohanka. Incumbent Republican Jack Nelsen secured enough votes to serve another term, with a 683-vote margin.(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.) Blaine County's blue dot just got a little more red, as preliminary election results show a house seat flipping from Democrat to Republican.Incumbent Democratic Senator Ron Taylor looks to hold his seat with a 367-vote lead.In a blow to Blaine County Democrats, Incumbent Representative Ned Burns is likely to lose his seat to Republican Mike Pohanka.Incumbent Republican Jack Nelsen secured enough votes to serve another term, with a 683-vote margin.The late-day update Wednesday was a result of how Blaine County poll workers handled absentee ballots."They hadn't opened any of the absentee ballots until the polls had closed," said Idaho Secretary of State, Phil McGrane.Each of those 2,528 ballots in the Democrat-heavy County had to be removed from its envelope, flattened, and scanned."Some of that work should have been done during the day or earlier, it's really just a timing thing. there's no problem with the vote, there's no problem with the process, it's just took longer getting the results out," said McGrane.The Blaine County Election Office released the following statement after the final count was released.Blaine County Clerks Office is committed to ensuring every vote is counted accurately and securely. This year, we experienced delays in reporting final election results due to a combination of limited staffing and a record voter turnout, with 82% of registered voters participatingthe highest turnout on record for our county.The counting of absentee ballots is a thorough and deliberate process to ensure accuracy. Given this years unprecedented volume, this process took longer than anticipated. While this caused a delay in final reporting, we want to assure the public that at no time was election security or integrity compromised.Two other ballot items in Blaine County were easier to call. Voters choosing Democrat Morgan Ballis to serve as the new Blaine County Sheriff and approving the Ketchum Fire Department reclassification to a Fire District.Sheriff-Elect Morgan Ballis had this to say about the election results."It feels great. It was a tough campaign, a tough primary, our election transcended the politics, it transcended the party lines, our community came together, and they believed in our vision of being connected with the community, being involved in the community, and focusing on prevention. So, we're excited," said Ballis.All election results still must be certified.