Once or twice each election cycle, a mailed ballot is diverted from its destination — the Clark County Auditor’s Office — and sent back home.
In this week’s primary, at least seven ballots have taken the wrong route. One of those came from Vancouver resident Jeff Brooks.
Brooks dropped his ballot, and two others from his household, into the mail, only to get two of them returned on Wednesday after the election had concluded.
The ballot envelopes have the auditor’s address printed in large type on one side, and the voter’s return address printed in small type on the other.
In a departure from typical election process, this election was the first time ballots featured prepaid postage.
Auditor Greg Kimsey said it’s possible the number of returned ballots increased because the number of mailed ballots also increased.
“We’re definitely getting reduced usage of the drop sites and increased usage of the post office,” Kimsey said.
The good news is if you’re one of the select few in possession of a returned ballot, you can still vote.
Kimsey said as long as the ballot was postmarked by Aug. 7 or earlier, voters can drop them off at the auditor’s office. But they only have until Aug. 20 to do so.
“We certify Aug. 21,” Kimsey said. “We can check ballots up to one day before certification.”
Brooks said Kimsey reached out and explained how to fix the situation, but he’s concerned about the impact on the general election.
“I do hope that this does not happen in the November elections, with so many important issues facing us, every vote could count,” Brooks said.
The apparently growing issue will be addressed soon, he added. There’s a task force make up of representatives from the election community, post office and commercial mail houses that handle ballots. The next meeting is in Vancouver and Kimsey said this issue is “definitely one of the topics we will be discussing with the post office.”
