Dozens of Clark County ballots sent in error

Ahead of the Feb. 11 special election, a few dozen Clark County residents received ballots in error, didn’t receive a ballot or were provided with a ballot for the wrong issue.

After a voter alerted the county about a mistake, Clark County Elections staff determined that voters were inadvertently moved to an incorrect precinct due to a December software update, according to the Clark County Auditor’s Office.

In all, 38 voters who should have received a ballot did not, 58 people received a ballot but shouldn’t have and nine residents received the wrong ballot style. Other voters had their precincts changed incorrectly but were not impacted for the upcoming election.

Elections supervisor Cathie Garber said the issue came to the office’s attention when a voter in Battle Ground Public Schools called to report she’d received a ballot for the Ridgefield School District bond. Garber said the voter alerted them of the issue early enough to allow the office time to reissue new ballots.

“If this email came in next week, it would have been a different story,” Garber said.

Ballots for voters who need one or received one with an incorrect style were expected to be mailed Monday, according to the auditor’s office. Ballots delivered in error will be canceled — meaning they cannot be counted — and letters will be sent explaining the error.

After working with the state elections office, the errors were corrected before any ballots were counted, the auditor’s office said. Garber said the issue was fixed in time to ensure it will also not affect the March 10 presidential primary.

In addition to various school bonds, the election will also include a resolution to allow Clark County Fire District 3 to annex the city of Battle Ground.