Supervisor of Elections to Mail Corrected Vote-By-Mail Ballots to Precinct 51 Voters Due to State House District 22 Race Mistakenly Appearing on Ballot

Press release from Alachua County Supervisor of Elections

ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. — The Alachua County Supervisor of Elections will be notifying and mailing corrected Primary Election vote-by-mail ballots to 896 voters assigned to Precinct 51. The vote-by-mail ballots sent to these 896 voters mistakenly included the race for State House District 22.

Voters residing in Precinct 51 live within the State House District 10 voting boundaries and are not eligible to vote in the race for State House District 22. Only one candidate qualified in the race for State House District 10, so the race will not appear on any Alachua County Primary Election ballot.

Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Kim A. Barton wants to reassure voters that this mistake will not impact their opportunity to vote in this election.

“After being made aware of an issue involving the vote-by-mail ballots that were sent to voters in Precinct 27, we conducted an extensive review of all of the ballots for each precinct. We found that the contest for State House District 22 mistakenly appeared on the ballots sent to voters in Precinct 51, who are not eligible to vote in that contest. We are mailing the affected voters a letter notifying them of this mistake and a corrected ballot. We are also emailing every affected voter that has an email address on file with our office.

I want to be very clear. No votes from Precinct 51 will be counted in the contest for House District 22. We found this mistake early and are notifying voters to ensure that they have plenty of time to cast their corrected ballot before the deadline, which is 7 p.m. on Election Day, August 23.”

Here are the steps the Supervisor of Elections Office is taking:

• We are mailing letters to each affected voter notifying them of the issue and the steps they should take. These letters will be in the mail this week. We are also emailing every affected voter that has an email address on file with our office.

• We are mailing corrected vote-by-mail ballots to each affected voter in Precinct 51. These vote-by-mail ballots will be sent in the mail by the beginning of next week.

Here are the steps Precinct 51 voters should take:

• Please do not return the ballot you have received that mistakenly includes the contest for State House District 22.

• Affected voters that are assigned to Precinct 51 can wait until they receive a corrected vote-by-mail ballot, complete it, and can mail the corrected ballot to the Supervisor of Elections Office, located in Gainesville at 515 N. Main St. Please remember that return postage is prepaid. Voters can also bring their corrected vote-by-mail ballot directly to the Supervisor of Elections Office during normal business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday), or deliver it to a Secure Ballot Intake Station. If they prefer, affected voters can cast a ballot during early voting or in-person on Election Day. Please visit VoteAlachua.gov for more information about Early Voting and Secure Ballot Intake Station locations and availability. When completing their corrected ballot, affected voters should vote on all races that they are interested in participating in.

• If a voter in Precinct 51 returns the first vote-by-mail ballot that mistakenly includes the contest for House District 22, they should still complete and return the corrected vote-by-mail ballot or vote early or in-person on Election Day. We will hold the first ballot until a replacement ballot has been received. Voters are able to submit a corrected ballot until 7 P.M. on Election Day. 

• Please contact the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Office at 352-374-5252 during normal business hours with any questions.

The Supervisor of Elections Office will ensure that voters are able to cast no more than one ballot in this or any election.