Miscommunication leads to hundreds of extra ballots sent to Juneau voters

A metropolis predetermination worker handles envelopes astatine nan City and Borough of Juneau Ballot Processing Center connected Oct. 3, 2023. (Clarise Larson / for nan Juneau Empire)

About 600 Juneau residents whitethorn person accidentally been sent 2 ballots for nan upcoming municipal election. That’s owed to a miscommunication betwixt nan metropolis and nan institution that prints and mails nan municipal ballots, metropolis officials said. 

The Municipal Clerk’s Office, which runs municipal elections, announced nan mistake Wednesday afternoon. Andi Hirsh, a lawman clerk for nan City and Borough of Juneau, said nan agency became alert of nan rumor aft group started calling successful astir it soon aft ballots were sent retired connected Sept. 12.

“This won’t hap again. I’m not worried astir this,” she said. “People are not going to beryllium capable to ballot doubly moreover though they sewage 2 ballots.”

Hirsh said nan metropolis believes nan correction happened aft nan institution that prints and mails nan city’s ballots, K&H Printers, didn’t discard nan ones for voters who had updated their elector registration aliases submitted a questioned ballot successful nan State Primary Election successful August.

Hirsh said that those who do person 2 ballots should ballot only 1 of them, and destruct nan other. She said you tin do that by simply ripping it up and disposing of it. 

And, contempt nan error, she said group won’t beryllium capable to ballot twice. CBJ Elections has protocols successful spot to guarantee only 1 ballot from a elector is accepted. 

“We person a bunch of processes successful spot to make judge that it’s secure. And a batch of those, I deliberation group don’t needfully spot but I conscionable want group to cognize that they’re location and they were successful spot earlier this, and they’ll enactment successful spot aft this,” she said.

Hirsch said group tin telephone nan clerk’s agency pinch immoderate questions aliases concerns astir nan ballots. She said nan metropolis plans to look further into what caused nan rumor aft nan predetermination concludes. 

Voters person a few ways to return their ballots. The metropolis has ballot driblet boxes successful different locations passim nan borough. Voters tin besides message nan ballot, aliases spell to 1 of nan 2 ballot centers successful town. Ballots must beryllium postmarked connected aliases earlier Election Day, which is Tuesday, Oct. 1.