After waiting for several extra hours to learn who won the races in Jefferson County, NEWS9 has learned the cause for the delay in receiving the results from the Board of Elections.


According to a press release from the Board of Elections, the problem boils down to an error with the database holding the absentee votes.


Once the polls closed and the board tried to combine the absentee votes and the poll place votes, the release said, the results could not be combined because of a difference in security codes on the absentee and poll place memory cards.


The board said the delay was a result of their diligence in trying to combine the results quickly to provide a printout for the candidates, the public and the media.


While some were annoyed with the delay, many are understanding.


"If it had gone on for a two or three or four day period, then the red flags would have gone off, but hours, we can live with that. You got to bend a little bit with the situation," Steubenville resident Tom Lloyd said.


The results were eventually released around 1:30 a.m. after officials uploaded the cards to separate databases and manually combined the results from each one.


Officials said the security codes are a feature meant to protect the integrity of the elections, but this time, the codes worked to their disadvantage.