Mix-up in York County mails hundreds of voters wrong oath
Up to 300 voters received affidavit for military or citizens overseas
At this scale of mail-in voting, there’s bound to be screw ups on both sides of the process.
Take what happened in York County, where up to 300 voters were mailed the wrong type of “secrecy sleeve” — otherwise known as Envelope B, where completed ballots are tucked before the whole shebang is slipped into the return envelope.
Envelope B also has the voter’s affidavit on one side, an oath that comes in two versions. One is for domestic voters and the other is for military or citizens overseas.
While sending out an unprecedented number of absentee ballots this year, staff at the York registrar’s office grabbed the wrong box and 200 to 300 regular voters wound up with the wrong affidavit.
Some noticed the difference, calling the office to ask what’s up. But many simply signed it, apparently without reading the oath, which asks them to “swear or affirm under penalty of perjury” that they’re active
“You can’t really blame people for just filling in the blanks without reading something like that.” —Walt Latham, York’s general registrar
duty military or civilians residing overseas.
Walt Latham, York’s general registrar, says staff scrambled as soon as they detected the problem. The remedy, after consulting with the state elections board: Catch the mix-ups as ballots are returned, then send those voters a letter along with the proper affidavit for them to sign.
“It’s our fault,” Latham said. “You can’t really blame people for just filling in the blanks without reading something like that. They’re assuming we’ve sent them the right thing.”
Latham doesn’t think the mistake would have invalidated ballots — “especially since it was our mess up” — but correcting things will ensure the votes can’t be challenged.
Still, it’s another example of why it’s a good idea to get absentee ballots in as soon as possible so issues like this can be fixed in time.
Latham said another locality with the same problem called him for advice. He won’t name names but said it’s not in Hampton Roads.
York, like other localities, is experiencing a remarkable wave of early voting, thanks to recent, statewide loosening of restrictions and a hot election.
In 2016, only 3,600 people voted absentee in York. As of Wednesday morning, more than 17,000 of the county’s 49,000 registered voters had already cast a ballot, either by mail or in person. Nearly 3,000 absentee ballots were still out but Tuesday saw the biggest crowds yet, with 950 showing up in person.
Come Election Day, Latham said, polling places might actually feel “like tumbleweed city.”