The incorrect ballots went to 178 voters whose last names all begin with “H.” Those Ward 3 voters mistakenly received ballots listing Ward 2 candidates, and Zeier has voided those ballots in the computer system.
New ballots will be in the mail by Friday at the latest, said Zeier, who apologized for the mistake.
“I do believe between Hess and Hubbard, I totally have incorrect ballots,” Zeier said.
She said alphabetically, a couple of voters on both sides of those names may also have incorrect ballots. More than 5,000 people in Ward 3 received ballots. In all, 51,320 ballots were mailed out for Missoula's November general election.
A letter enclosed with the new ballots asks Ward 3 voters to destroy the original, incorrect ballot and envelopes. The error does not affect Ward 2, Zeier said. However, anyone who believes they received an incorrect ballot should call the Elections Office.
In case someone submits a correct ballot but places it in the wrong envelope, the ballot will be counted provisionally. If a correct envelope includes the wrong ballot, only the vote on the war referendum and school levy will count. A vote for a City Council candidate will not.
Anyone can make a mistake, and the problem must have happened when election judges were stuffing envelopes, Zeier said. Somehow, someone stuffing envelopes for Ward 3 grabbed the wrong pile of ballots. That person could have gone to the wrong bin, or another person might have set a pile in the wrong place.
Either way, Zeier said next time, people stuffing envelopes will not be allowed to retrieve ballots by themselves. Instead, Zeier will deliver them a correct stack. She said a similar mistake could have happened at the polls.
Thursday afternoon, two City Council candidates attended a quickly assembled gathering where Zeier explained the problem and solution, and both said they felt comfortable with the corrective plan.
“This isn't as bad as I thought,” said Ward 3 candidate Doug Harrison, who described the solution as “reasonable.”
Ward 2 candidate Pam Walzer described the error as “an honest, easy mistake,” and said she had no doubt the fix would work.
Zeier said she felt bad that the mistake happened and said she was grateful to the voters who called and alerted her office to the problem.
“If you think you got the wrong ballot, you need to be calling us,” she said.
Reporter Keila Szpaller can be reached at 523-5262 or at Keila.Szpaller@missoulian.com
Check your ballot
If you think you received an incorrect ballot for Missoula's mail-in general election, call the Missoula County Elections Office at 258-4751. Some voters in Ward 3 mistakenly received Ward 2 ballots. Correct ballots will be in the mail by Friday at the latest.
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