On Friday, the Erie County Board of Elections became aware that 296 duplicate ballots were sent to voters in Erie, Pennsylvania. As of Tuesday, 38,000 mail ballots had been requested in the county.
The board stated that vendor Election IQ’s addressing system temporarily failed, resulting in nearly 300 duplicate ballots being mailed to voters.
The board also said that it would be in communication with voters who received duplicates to ensure they do not vote twice in November’s election.
Erie County Clerk Karen Chilcott said, “Of course, it is very concerning for people who received the incorrect ballot, but it is a small number, and we want to reassure people that there are mechanisms in place to correct this. If someone did attempt to vote an incorrect ballot, we would be able to track that and we would follow up and prosecute anyone who attempts to vote twice.”
Democratic Chairman Sam Talarico said, “It’s not that uncommon for small things like this to happen, so we are not that concerned at all. The County Courthouse is going to handle this like they always do.”
Republican Chairman Tom Eddy responded to the duplicate ballots saying, “I hope that the County Courthouse identifies the 296 individuals that got these ballots and requires them to bring it in.”
The news release issued by the Erie County Board of Elections said, “The board has internal mechanisms in place to further ensure this does not occur. The board is committed to the integrity of the upcoming General Election and is confident that it has taken all steps necessary so that these duplicate ballots will not affect the outcome of the election in any way.”
