Thousands of Utah voters received mail-in ballots without a designated area to write a signature.
Local officials say that over 13,000 mail-in ballots sent to residents of Sanpete County, Utah, were delivered without the signature portion of the ballot, according to Fox 13 Salt Lake City.
“Certainly not the kind of start you want to have,” Utah Elections Director Justin Lee said, adding that his office is working with Sanpete County officials to rectify the issue.
The ballots are also missing sections where voters can write their phone number and email address to allow the clerk’s office to contact them if there are questions about the signature.
Sanpete County Clerk Sandy Neill says a printing company is responsible for the mishap. He added that the company will cover the cost to send postcards to affected voters explaining how to sign their ballot, and if they have already submitted a ballot they can send the postcard in with a signature.
“We’ve got this,” Neill said. “We’re going to make the votes count. I’ve had candidates call and very concerned about what it’s going to do to some of these close races, and I’ve let them know that we will take care of it.”
Questions about the security of mail-in voting have intensified over the past few weeks as reports have surfaced about ballots being stolen from mailboxes and discarded, incorrect ballots being mailed, and incidents of alleged voter fraud via mail.
