Brown Co. sends replacement ballots to mail-in precincts
Processing error led to mismatched name on signature envelope
BROWN COUNTY – Voters in Brown County mail-in ballot precincts will be receive replacement ballots for the Aug. 13 State Primary election due to a processing error with some of the balloting materials.
Some mail-in ballot voters in Brown County received mismatched outgoing and signature envelopes for the Aug. 13 State Primary Election. Out of precaution and to ensure data integrity, Brown County decided to send replacement balloting materials to all mail ballot voters.
Brown County has 13 mail ballot precincts impacted the by change that includes the cities of Cobden, Evan and Hanska, and the townships of Albin, Cottonwood, Home, Lake Hanska, Linden, Mulligan, Prairieville, Sigel, Stark and Stately.
Brown County Election Administrator Kelly Hotovec explained the actual ballot mail-in voters received for the state primary were correct, but some of the signature envelopes did not match the name of person receiving the mail-in ballot.
Before an election, each registered voter in a mail-in precinct is sent an envelope addressed to them containing balloting materials. Materials inside the envelope include the ballot, a secrecy sleeve for the ballot, a signature envelope that includes the voters name and precinct information and a return envelope.
Once a voter fills out their ballot it is placed into the secrecy sleeve. This sleeve is then placed into the signature envelope. The signature envelope is placed into the return envelope to be mailed back to the county.
Hotovec said that before balloting materials were initially mailed out, a correction was made to the ballot file and it was changed before printing. However, it was later determined the original production file loaded to print the signature envelope was not cleared out with this change. This created a different presort sequencing resulting in the mismatch between the names on some outgoing and signature envelopes.
It is unknown how many signature envelopes were sent out with this discrepancy. Hotovec said after the error was detected, they decided not to risk voter data integrity and sent replacement ballots to all those in the mail-in precincts.
“We want to be transparent about it and assure people there are processes in place to protect their vote,” Hotovec said. “We want people to know this is a safe and valid voting method.”
The replacement ballot materials have been mailed to the impacted precincts. Mail ballot voters in the 13 mail ballot precincts are instructed to discard original balloting materials and only use replacement balloting materials. Hotovec said any ballots received using original materials will not be counted, including any ballots that were returned before receiving notification and the replacement ballots.
“It is imperative that every vote counts,” Hotovec said. “We have set up a process for the absentee ballot board to notify any voter returning an original mail ballot reminding them that their ballot was not counted, and that they can re-vote using the replacement balloting materials.”
Mail ballot voters must use the replacement ballot, signature envelope and return envelope and return their ballot to the Brown County Auditor-Treasurer’s office by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 13 for their vote to count.
An absentee or mail ballot voter may ask someone else to return their sealed signature envelope in person to the county election office. This individual is known as an agent. The agent must be at least 18 years old and may only return ballots for up to three voters per election. The individual must show the election official ID with their name and signature, and complete and sign the agent return record indicating both the agent’s name and the absentee voter’s name and address.