Lancaster County reports big mail-in ballot problem

Significant number of the ballots did not scan

County boards of elections were supposed to begin counting mail-in ballots at 7 a.m. today, reducing the logjam of vote-counting issues when the Pennsylvania primary election polls close this evening.

But in Lancaster County, there was a big problem.

“Upon opening and scanning the first batch of ballots it became immediately apparent that a significant number of the mail ballots did not scan,” a county press release stated. “Upon further inspection of the ballots, the county identified the ballots were printed by the mail ballot vendor, NPC, with the wrong identification code. This error prevents the ballots from being scanned on the county’s central scanners.”

The county board added that there was no way to know about the issue before they began opening mail-in ballots this morning: “The incorrect printing by the vendor was after the elections staff approved NPC’s test ballots, which had the correct ID code,” the county board’s statement read. “Those ballots scanned properly during the county’s logic and accuracy testing prior to the mailing of any ballots to voters. Thus, there was no way for the county to discover this vendor error prior to 7:00 am on election day, when the law requires mail ballots to be first opened.”

Despite it all, the elections office insisted it would press ahead and count all the ballots, stating this in the press release: “After conferring with both major political parties, the staff-recommended process to correct the issue will (involve) remarking and scanning all affected ballots. This is the process used in the 2021 Primary Election when the previous mail ballot vendor printed the ballots incorrectly.”

The county board said election integrity remains its paramount concern, stating: “Running fair and secure elections is a sacred trust. The board of elections will do everything possible to ensure this problem is resolved in a transparent, secure way. Any steps taken will be transparently observed by both major political parties, representatives from the campaigns, and by the media.”