Blogger wrong on incorrect ballots report
Last week 581 voters received incorrect ballots
Officials are refuting the claim of a post stating that South Davis residents received incorrect ballots.
On the heels of sending 581 registered voters a ballot containing incorrect information, the Yolo County Elections officials are refuting the claim of a social media post stating that South Davis residents also received incorrect ballots.
According to a statement from the county, multiple residents who read the “blog post or saw its misleading title on social media,” reached out to the Elections Office.
After analyzing every street referenced in the post, the elections office is “confident that the correct ballots were issued to residents in (the) areas,” according to a statement from the office late Monday.
The office also confirmed with each person who contacted them that the ballots they were originally issued were correct.
“One citizen kindly replied to the post acknowledging how difficult some of the maps are to read, leading to this confusion,” a statement from the Elections Office reads. “We want to encourage voters to contact us directly if they feel there is a question with their ballot or if they have a concern related to this upcoming election and the options available to voters during this pandemic.”
This development comes less than a week after the office sent 581 registered voters countywide a ballot containing an incorrect local race or measure due to a data system error.
The elections office acknowledged that there have been complex election changes this year, including the recent transition to city and school board district elections with different locally drawn boundaries that may lead to confusion.
As of Monday morning, the response plan was completed and all 581 re-issued ballots were mailed first class. Those affected will be receiving a packet with a correct ballot and a new County Information Guide by the middle of the week.
The Elections Office will also begin logic and accuracy testing of voting equipment next Monday. The test will be immediately followed by the processing of vote-by-mail ballots.
Ballot scanning will continue on an ongoing basis through Election Day, when results can be tallied and reported at 8 p.m. on Nov. 3.
“The Logic and Accuracy Test is a verification process that ensures our voting equipment and software are functioning properly,” Registrar of Voters Jesse Salinas said. “To promote transparency in elections the LAT process and the scanning of ballots are open to the public. We welcome visitors to the Elections Office to observe this process.”
While members of the public are welcome to observe the process, COVID-19 safety precautions will be followed and will limit the number of people allowed in the office at one time. Anyone interested in attending must RSVP to elections@yolocounty.org by Saturday.
Any voter who has a question about their ballot or believes they’ve received something in error should call the Yolo County Elections Office at 666-8133 or visit yoloelections.org.