Eureka candidate’s statement left off mailer
Ward 2 candidate for Eureka City Council Kati Moulton would have spat out her coffee when she opened her voter guide and saw her candidate statement was missing from the booklet delivered to all voters recently.
But Moulton hadn’t had her morning coffee yet, so the candidate simply sat awestruck for a few moments staring at the blank space where the statement should have been before picking up the phone and beginning the arduous task of figuring out why the $480 statement meant to inform voters was instead left blank.
“It’s unfortunate when you don’t get that moment — that opportunity — to make a first impression to voters,” Moulton said. “That moment is now kind of lost…But it invigorated my committee to work even harder during this election.”
The Eureka city clerk took Moulton’s early morning call and immediately set to work. The Humboldt County Election’s Office was notified.
It was the office’s error which caused Moulton’s statement to be left off the ballot.
But the office is doing what it can to correct the situation.
Moulton’s candidate statement, and a letter from the county with an explanation and apology, will be mailed out in a supplemental letter to second ward voters no later than Friday.
“The (election’s office) was prompt and very apologetic, and I’m grateful for that,” said Moulton, who is in the midst of her first campaign for public office. “I just hope that supplemental guide reaches people before they vote. I know a lot of people will vote early, and I know a lot of people make the majority of their decisions based off that guide.”
Large stickers with her statement will be affixed to voter guides in every single second ward voting center, as well as new voter guides which will be sent to voters who have registered since the first guides were sent out — all on the county’s dime.
“(Moulton) has been great to work with, she’s been very understanding,” County registrar Kelly Sanders said. “This was human
error. … We are working to ensure all candidates are represented equally.”
The voter guide also contains another error. The last day to request a replacement ballot is Oct. 27. The guide says Oct. 26.
“We apologize for the error and the confusion it may cause,” the county elections office said in a statement Tuesday evening. “We will ensure that county voters will have ample time to ask for and receive a replacement ballot for the November election.”
Moulton’s full candidate statement can be found on her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/KatiForWard2/.