Burlington County Clerk Joanne Schwartz announced actions her office is taking in response to a printer error involving the sealing of the outer envelopes used to deliver Vote-by-Mail ballots.
Schwartz said the county’s printing vendor used the wrong envelopes while preparing the Vote-by-Mail ballots, which caused them to be ineffectively machine-sealed with defective tabs, according to information provided on Oct. 2.
The issue has been remedied.
However, an initial batch of ballots were mailed to voters in Evesham, Willingboro and Lumberton before the error was discovered, so some of those envelopes may come open during the mailing process, according to the statement.
If any ballot envelopes arrive and appear opened, voters should check to make sure they contain a ballot, an instructions letter, certified ballot envelope and a prepaid postage return envelope.
“Voters should know that the integrity of their ballots themselves are not in question and our office has responded quickly to remedy the situation. However, in the interest of full transparency, we want voters to know about the situation and that remedies are available for any voter who is not completely confident,” Schwartz said in the statement. “Any voters concerned about a ballot with a defective seal can request a replacement Vote-by-Mail ballot or can vote provisionally at their assigned polling place. “
The county has safeguards in place to confirm that each voter casts only one ballot and that they do not vote by mail and in-person.
“The election is the foremost priority of my office and we will not rest until every voter can be assured that their ballot is secure and that their ability to vote is not in jeopardy,” Schwartz said in the statement.
A new email address, votebymail@co.burlington.nj.us, was created specifically for voters to contact the Clerk’s Office with any questions or concerns about their Vote-by-Mail ballots.
The Clerk’s Office can be reached directly by phone at 609-265-5229.
