"It is something that not only is Montgomery County going to have to consider, but the entire state," said Steve Harsman, director of the board of elections.
The missed votes did not show up in the original count or official recount, and would not have been discovered except that the precinct was one reviewed in a special statewide audit of electronic machine results ordered by Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, Harsman said.
It is the latest of several problems discovered with the electronic machines manufactured by Premier Election Solutions and used in 44 Ohio counties as well as other states.
"We have not seen this particular condition anywhere else in Ohio or anywhere else in the country," said company spokesman Chris Riggall.
Harsman said he is disheartened by the discovery that the electronic machine's memory card failed to tabulate the votes when it was placed into the tabulation server.
"I think it does validate Secretary of State Brunner's call for an audit," Harsman said. "And I think it does challenge us to ask some important questions with the touch-screen system. Is it as reliable as we initially thought?"