More than 60,000 voters in the area received early ballots with mistakes. | Unsplash/Arnaud Jaegers
More than 60,000 voters in the area received early ballots with mistakes. | Unsplash/Arnaud Jaegers
Pinal County government officials are now weighing their options after more than 60,000 voters in the area received early ballots with mistakes that authorities admit they have no clear plan for being able to rectify.
"Previously stated ballot by mail and options related to city and town elections in the seven impacted municipalities are being re-evaluated by the county attorney's office,” government officials tweeted. “We will update you with further information when it becomes available. We appreciate your patience."
In the meantime, Pinal County Attorney Kent Vilkmer has sought to calm and reassure voters.
“We are not sitting on our hands,” he told ABC15.com. “My office, we worked through the weekend Saturday, Sunday. We are exploring all of our options. Right now, I believe potentially holding a separate special election for those districts seems to be the most likely scenario.”
With the problem thought to stem from a human error that originated in the county elections office, Volkmer added the legal actions now being taken are limited to the seven jurisdictions involved and their municipal races.
“There are all of these legal requirements, and frankly impediments, to fix our error,” he said. “But it’s done to protect the voter.”
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