October 29, 2024
In Nevada County, California, election officials are racing to address a ballot printing error affecting 77,000 mail-in ballots ahead of Election Day. The error, which caused imperfections in the barcodes, has led to difficulties with ballot scanners, preventing them from accurately reading certain ballots.
According to CBS News, the Nevada County elections office first noticed something was wrong on Monday. By Tuesday, officials had pinpointed the issue as an ink overspray on some of the barcodes, which interfered with the scanners’ ability to process votes. Nevada County Clerk Recorder Natalie Adona explained, “Some of our ballots, if you look really closely and use a magnifying glass, you will see that there are imperfections in the barcodes.”
The error has generated concern among local residents, with some questioning whether it could impact election results. “A lot of the public is very nervous about the process, about the results,” noted Penn Valley resident Leilani Vevang.
Response from Officials
To address the problem, election officials have devised a plan to identify and rescan affected ballots. They will generate a report to determine which ballots were not read by the machines and will pull those out for manual review. “We’ll mark them as to be rescanned, and we will rescan them with a piece of paper where the barcode is very clear,” Adona added.
The California Secretary of State’s Office has been informed of the issue, and the ballot printing service has also stepped in to assist in finding solutions. Officials are working diligently to ensure that every ballot is accurately counted and have assured the public that measures are being taken to resolve the issue swiftly.
With Election Day fast approaching, Nevada County’s elections office is prioritizing transparency and efficiency to ensure voters’ confidence in the process remains intact.
ALERT🚨: A ballot printing error in Nevada County, CA, has caused scanning issues with 77,000 ballots, preventing the ballot counting machines from reading them properly. pic.twitter.com/aYqzVWdtGn
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) October 29, 2024
