Seven misdirected ballots have already been officially counted after a vendor error resulted in some Volusia County voters receiving incorrect mail-in ballots for the Nov. 3 general election.
The Volusia County Supervisor of Elections Office identified the error in a mailing associated with an Oct. 7 delivery date. About 350 voters received ballots containing contests for the wrong city or area.
Supervisor of Elections Lisa Lewis said seven of those voters have already cast their votes and those votes are counted.
Depending on what was included on the incorrect ballots, the error could potentially affect the outcome of some local races if they are particularly close.
All affected voters live in Congressional District 6 but may have received ballots with races for Congressional District 7. As a result, some voters could have missed out on a school board race or voted in a different county council race.
“We take this matter very seriously and are taking every available action to correct it as quickly as possible.”- Volusia County Supervisor of Elections Lisa Lewis
Lewis said most of the affected voters are in northern Volusia County, including areas around Daytona Beach, Holly Hill, Ormond Beach and DeLand.
“I am deeply upset that this vendor’s error has affected our voters. They deserve better,” Lewis said in a statement. “We take this matter very seriously and are taking every available action to correct it as quickly as possible.”
The elections office is mailing replacement ballots to affected voters who have not already voted. Each replacement includes a notice explaining the error and instructing voters to use the corrected ballot.
“I signed them all this morning, and we have just put them in,” Lewis said on Friday. “We're getting ready to drop them in the mail.”
The notice reads: “Important notice to voters. We recently learned our vendor sent an incorrect ballot to you on October 7. A new ballot is enclosed. Please use this corrected ballot. We apologize for any confusion and appreciate your understanding. You may vote this ballot and return it by mail, or drop it off at any early voting site during hours of operation, or take advantage of early voting and vote in person as well as on Election Day.”
Voters who have already cast a ballot will not receive another one.
The office said it is looking into the extent of the problem and working to identify which ballot styles were sent incorrectly and which races may have been missing or different.
Voters who believe they received an incorrect ballot can contact the Supervisor of Elections Office to verify their information and determine what steps to take.
Voters also can cast their ballots in person during early voting or on Election Day.
Early voting runs daily through Oct. 31, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., at nine locations throughout Volusia County. On Election Day, Nov. 3, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and voters must go to their assigned polling place.
