By Thomas Catenacci
New York City residents have reported receiving ballots with wrong information, sparking confusion and a response from the city board of elections department.
Multiple voters who live in Brooklyn have reported errors — including a wrong name on their ballot envelope — which would invalidate their ballots, according to Gothamist. The error was due to an “outside vendor error,” the New York City Board of Elections said Monday in a tweet instructing residents on what steps to take if they encounter the error.
“I just got my New York mail-in ballot today and the security envelope I’m supposed to put it in and sign has some other guy’s name and address on it,” Nathan McDermott, a CNN reporter and Brooklyn resident, tweeted Monday.
He added: “I’m a political journalist, so I pay a bit more attention to this than the average voter needs to, but the wrong address isn’t readily noticeable, so I imagine most voters won’t even register it.”
I just got my New York mail-in ballot today and the security envelope I’m supposed to put it in and sign has some other guy’s name and address on it.
Gothamist is already reporting other cases, so this is looking to be a widespread problem.https://t.co/lSF3abIXTB pic.twitter.com/4uWmNOwwRW
— Nathan McDermott (@natemcdermott) September 29, 2020
Several voters responded to an earlier board of elections tweet, complaining that they were experiencing the same issue that McDermott tweeted about.
“Also received an envelope with someone else’s name. I spoke to someone at the Brooklyn office who genuinely sounded shocked and panicked when I told her the issue. I was rushed off the phone,”John DePasquale, a New York City middle school teacher, tweeted in response.
If a voter were to sign the mistaken envelope, the ballot would be invalidated, according to city law, Gothamist reported. Voters living in at least nine different Brooklyn neighborhoods have reported the error.
The board of elections doesn’t know the extent of the issue, the department’s executive director Michael Ryan said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation. About 500,000 ballots have already been sent out to New York City voters, according to Gothamist.
“We will ensure on behalf of the voters in Brooklyn that the proper ballots and ballot envelopes are in the hands of the voters in advance of Election Day so they can vote,” Ryan said.
Ryan added that the city’s vendor tasked with making the ballots, Phoenix Graphics, will address the issue and that voters with invalid ballots will receive corrected ones.
The reported issues come weeks before the Nov. 3 election, which will see more mail-in voting than years past. A record 76% of Americans will be able to vote by mail in the general election, The New York Times reported.
President Donald Trump has opposed universal mail-in voting and has said that the election will be more susceptible to fraud. He floated the idea of delaying the election in July, but later backtracked.
Nearly 50% of voters believe mail-in voting is susceptible to fraud, according to a July poll.
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Vermonter’s,
If needed you should ” Request ” an absentee ballot or go to the polls,
wear a mask, get hand sanitizer and bring your own pen ” Black Ink ”
so your VOTE counts, for real……….!!
Liberal Democrats are tweaking the system, for better results…….sure !!
Wake up people, they don’t have your interest in mind.
Condos should immediately admit he has caused a state-wide brouhaha regarding mail-in.
What could go wrong, has gone wrong IN SPADES, ALL OVER THE US.
Think of it: Vermont could be a leader regarding NO mail-in voting
Condos should immediately reverse course
Condos should announce people must IGNORE any ballots mailed to them.
Condos should instruct all people to GO TO THE POLLS, to minimize confusion and fraud.
Going to the polls is just as safe as going shopping for food, etc.
Going to the polls is just as safe as children going to school, and people going to work.
The scare-mongering absurdity of it all by legislators and the VT Media has been going on far too long.
The only solution is to vote OUT EN MASSE the scare-mongers in November
Westminster Vermont’s ‘interim’ town clerk is recommending, first, that everyone vote by mail. The town clerk has also moved the traditional polling place, used for the last 40 years, to the town hall. Curiously, the Westminster’s town hall has poor access and can’t accommodate nearly as many voters at a time as the did the traditional polling place. Something is rotten in Denmark.
As announced on Front Porch Forum
From Patty Mark, Interim Town Clerk, Westminster:
IMPORTANT ELECTION INFORMATION
In the “new normal” that COVID-19 has presented us, the General Election on November 3,2020 will look a little different this year. Between September 21 and October 1, the Vermont Secretary of State’s office is mailing out ballots to every active registered voter in the state of Vermont.
The Secretary of State recommends that you fill out your ballot as soon as you receive it and return it to the Town Clerk’s office in the envelope provided. You have several options for returning your ballot. You can mail your ballot and it is recommended that you mail it back no later than October 24 to be sure it arrives on time. You can return it to the Town Clerk’s office. Even though the Town Offices in Westminster are still closed to the public, there is a mail slot to the right of the front doors. You can return your ballot in that mail slot. There will be a sign directing you to “deposit ballot here”. You can bring the ballot to the polls on Election Day. If you are unable to do so yourself, you can have someone else deliver your sealed ballot to either the Town Hall or to the polls on Election Day.
Your ballot must be received by 7:00pm on election day in order to be counted.
In person voting will still be available on Election Day. The polling location for Westminster has changed for this election. VOTING WILL TAKE PLACE AT THE WESTMINSTER TOWN HALL DURING THE HOURS OF 8:00AM TO 7:00PM.
If you are not a registered voter and wish to register you can call the Town Clerk’s office at 722-4091 and make arrangements to get a voter registration form. There is also same day voter registration at the polls on Election Day.
If you have not received your ballot by October 7 or you have any questions about the election, please call the Westminster Town Clerk’s office at 722-4091.