Atlantic County Clerk Joe Giralo is reassuring residents that the 24,000 Vote-By-Mail ballots that were recently distributed are error-free and can be used and submitted by 8 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Giralo confirmed that an error on the fuchsia-colored instruction card that was included with Vote-By-Mail ballots has been discovered but it does not affect or compromise the ballot.
Under “Option 3” on the instruction card (as attached), is included the date of last year’s Election Day, Nov. 7, as the date ballots would need to be returned. The correct date is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
“This is an unfortunate error that was discovered after the Vote-By-Mail ballots were mailed. Evidently the instruction cards from last year were inserted in the envelope with this year’s ballots,” Giralo said in a news release. “We are investigating how this mistake occurred.”
He explained that his office contracts with an outside commercial printer for the printing and mailing of the ballots. According to Giralo, the Atlantic County Clerk’s Office has been using this printer for 15 years or more.
“All the files we provided to the printer were correct and were reviewed by multiple staff,” Giralo said. “There is no problem with the Vote-By-Mail ballots, only the instruction cards. Vote-By-Mail ballots must be returned by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, November 5. All drop boxes will be locked at that time.”
Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson said that while this human error is unfortunate, it is avoidable, because he does not believe there is a need for early voting or vote-by-mail.
“These efforts to expand voting opportunities are rife for abuse and fraud, extremely costly and unnecessary. We should have one Election Day to ensure the integrity of our processes,” Levinson said. “We ‘fixed’ what wasn’t broken with our voting system.”
Anyone who has questions about the Vote-By-Mail ballot may call the Clerk’s Office at (609) 625-4011.
