Emergency ballots were printed in St. Clair County, Alabama, after polling officials discovered that many ballots were missing a page containing proposed constitution amendments on US election day.
Source: Associated Press
The issue was identified Tuesday when sealed ballot packs were opened at various polling locations.
St. Clair County Probate Judge Andrew Weathington confirmed that the missing page, which includes important local and statewide amendments, appeared to be the result of a printing error. “The proposed ballots were proofed before printing and were correct,” Weathington said, emphasizing that the issue only became apparent once the ballots were opened at polling sites.
The Alabama Secretary of State’s Office assisted with the printing of new emergency ballots to resolve the problem.
The ACLU of Alabama called on St. Clair County to extend voting hours to account for the time lost in preparing new ballots.
A spokesperson for the organization said they are requesting an extension based on the hours needed to print and distribute the corrected ballots. Weathington noted that he is seeking legal guidance from the Alabama Secretary of State and the county attorney on how to proceed.
Voters in St. Clair County were deciding on both local and statewide constitutional amendments. The statewide amendment involved allowing a local school board to sell land in another Alabama county to a developer. The local amendment affected governance within the county’s school board.
Despite the setback, the county moved swiftly to ensure all voters had access to correct ballots and that every vote was counted accurately.
