TOOELE, Utah — New ballots are already heading towards Tooele County after thousands of voters received incorrect versions.
The Tooele County Clerk's Office is typically filled with people getting their passports, marriage licenses, or other records. But on Friday, they had a different task at hand.
Employees spent time reaching out to the thousands of residents who had incorrect ballots sent to them. Approximately 9,000 voters in the county received wrong ballots, which will be destroyed or deactivated.
“We started at the beginning with [the clerk's office]; did we push the button wrong? Did the state system generate something wrong? Based on our investigations, all of that was found to be accurate and working as it should be," explained Tooele County Clerk Tracy Shaw.
The office then went to its printer vendor, who identified that the error came from its system.
9,000 Tooele County residents received wrong ballots, clerk says:
Because there are logs for every step in the process, the clerk's office was able to generate a list to learn who got an incorrect ballot. Luckily for Shaw, she’s had a handful of poll managers helping her along the way.
“I enjoy being a help to the community and trying to make sure we fix those issues that were no fault of ours, but someone needs to fix them," said poll manager Philip Parish.
Parish and Susan Howard have been helping with elections for the past two decades.
“Whether I’m at the actual polls on the day of election or here in the room or driving around and collecting all the ballots. It’s all part of the process, so it’s good to know all the different steps… understand how it really works,” Howard said.
Meanwhile, the process of calling nearly 9,000 voters is just beginning.
“That’s why we’re going to be calling, emailing, texting," said Shaw. "I’ll send a letter. Every measure I possibly can to make sure that every person that has voted knows that that was the incorrect ballot they voted, so they have an opportunity to vote a second time.”
A replacement ballot is already on its way to the thousands who received the incorrect versions, which should arrive Tuesday or Wednesday. And, of course, there is always the option to vote in person on Election Day.
