About 160 voters in Imperial County mistakenly received two ballots ahead of the Nov. 3 election, a mailing error that county officials said would not affect their ability to ensure only one ballot per voter is counted.
The Imperial County Registrar of Voters' office sent the duplicate ballots as it updated its mailing procedures to reflect a new state law expanding confidential voter status to elected officials and candidates for public office, the county said Monday, Oct. 19, in a press release.
California has long provided confidential voter status to people who may face threats or harassment, including survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking, by restricting access to their home addresses, phone numbers and email addresses in voter registration
records. Assembly Bill 1392, which took effect Jan. 1, extends those protections to elected officials and candidates running for public office unless they opt out.
"We understand that receiving more than one ballot may cause confusion, and we take that concern seriously," Registrar of Voters Linsey Dale said in a statement. "Although this mailing error affected approximately 160 confidential voters, our commitment to conducting a secure and accurate election remains unchanged."
In other cases, voters may receive an additional ballot if they update their registration information or if the Department of Motor Vehicles submits updated information after the county prepares its mailing lists, typically eight weeks before an election.
However, that does not mean a voter can cast more than one vote.
"We have safeguards in place to ensure that only one ballot is accepted and counted for each eligible voter in accordance with California law," Dale said.
Should voters receive more than one ballot or have questions about their ballot, they can contact the county registrar of voters' office for assistance.
Jennifer Cortez covers education and breaking news in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at jennifer.cortez@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Why 160 Imperial County voters received duplicate ballots
