ADAMS COUNTY –Adams County officials are racing to retrieve 88 ballots with mistakes – and six have already been cast.
Arizona-based Runbeck Election Services notified Adams County Clerk and Recorder Karen Long of a machine malfunction that left 94 ballots with incorrect congressional district or state legislative candidates, municipality, school district or other special district questions.
Statewide races and questions, as well as countywide races and questions, were unaffected, according to Adams County Spokesman Jim Sieldlecki.
The problem came three days after Long's office announced Runbeck Election Services sent duplicate ballots to 243 Adams County voters.
"I'm not too secure with it, because there will be other mistakes too," Shirly Foos said.
Her husband, Albert Foos, was one of the few voters with an extra ballot.
"If this could slip up, other things can too," Foos said.
Siedlecki said the county has used Runbeck Election Services in the past, but trust in the company is "lukewarm."
"At some point we have to start questioning their process and their machines --- but it's a small number," he said. "Let's keep this in perspective. Even with the other instance, it's still less than two-tenths of 1 percent of the 207,000 ballots that we sent out."
Siedlecki says it's not clear if voters who cast their ballots by mistake will get another chance to vote, adding the county and the Secretary of State's office plan to address the issue.
In an email, Runbeck Election Services CEO Kevin Runbeck said the company regrets "that any voters have been inconvenienced."
Runbeck said the company will issue corrected ballots in time for the election.
According to the statement, Runbeck Election Services was also responsible for eight incorrect ballots sent to Larimer County voters.
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