2,666 duplicate vote-by-mail ballots mailed to county voters
–This week, San Luis Obispo County Election department staff discovered that duplicate vote-by-mail ballots were sent to 2,666 voters in the county. Upon review, it was discovered that the county’s ballot printer and mail house vendor had inadvertently processed a supplemental VBM mailing twice, resulting in 2,666 voters receiving a second, identical VBM ballot packet, according to the County Clerk Recorder’s Office. The total number of VBM ballots sent so far during this election has exceeded 140,000.
The vendor is sending postcard notifications to these voters informing them of the duplicate ballot sent, instructing voters to vote only one ballot and discarding the other, they say.
County Clerk-Recorder Tommy Gong said, “While it is unfortunate that some duplicate VBM ballots were sent to voters, we were able to quickly discover the discrepancy and develop a plan to notify affected voters of the situation and how to rectify it. We regret any confusion and inconvenience this has caused.”
With the voter registration system that the Elections Department implemented last summer, the Clerk Recorder’s office says that if duplicate ballots were received, the system would flag that a duplicate ballot was submitted should the second ballot be received, ensuring that only one ballot is counted per voter.
Voters with questions about their VBM ballots or any election issue may contact the Elections Division at (805) 781-5228 or elections@co.slo.ca.us.
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