"Yes, we had a small mishap.
I apologize for that, but that’s it.
It got caught early and it’s done,” said Baack-Garvey.
2,000 buchanan county residents receiving ballots with incorrect language on them this week.
Buchanan county was one of two counties in the state to send out a wrongly worded proposal to amendment 3.
Kq2's kilee thomas sat down with the buchanan county clerk to discuss what happened and how voters can trust the election is safe.
Kilee thomas reportingsot: mary baack-garvey, buch.
Co.
Clerk- "it just slipped through the cracks.
It's an honest mistake.
It happens and unfortunately, it happened here in buchanan."
On tuesday, 1,700 absentee ballots were sent out to buchanan county- printed with incorrect, outdated language for amendment 3language- buchanan county voters say grossly differs from what it should be.
Sot: jane frick, persisterhood co-facilitator- "to mislead the voters and make them think they were voting for something they were voting for something really good.
Without having anything on the ballot that said, 'hey, this replacing just what you voted for in 2018.'
Why would anyone do anything about it?"
The updated language for amendment 3 asks voters if they wish to change the redistricting process passed back in 2018 nonpartisan figure drawing district lines to a government appointed bipartisan commission.
Buchanan county clerk, mary baack-garvey, apologizing for the ballot error.
Sot:baack-garvey- "we have gone above and beyond to make sure everything is ready for election day.
Yes, we had a small mishap.
I apologize for that, but that's it.
It got caught early and it's done.""i'm not used to proofing state issues.
That's usually done by the vendors, by the state and it was confusing because the language on amendment 3 bounced back and forth on how it was going to be worded."buchanan county is sending a new ballot to each voter letter explaining the language change.
Baack- garvey said the mistake will cost the county approximately $3,000.sot: baack-garvey- "i know that the local election authority here is working to make sure that is taken care of and i have full faith in her ability to do that."
For county residents voicing their concern over ballots being double counted... clerk's office says their system ensures ballots aren't counted twice.
Sot: baack- garvey- "each voter has their special number and letter coded to their ballot.
So, when john smith's ballot, even if it's the original ballot comes in, we're gonna know it's the original ballot because it doesn't have the second coding letter.
On the new ballot, john smith will have 101-aa; that means second ballot.
It's a very simple process, we have it down.
It shouldn't be confusing at all.
Nobody's going to vote twice.
It's a one and done vote."
Baack-garvey says this mishap shouldn't place doubt in voters minds on the security of the election sot: baack- garvey- "let's move past this.
It's over.
They're gonna get the correct ballot.
Everybody's gonna get the correct ballot.
Let's move on and have a great election day on the 3rd."
Reporting in st joseph, kilee thomas kq2 news baack-garvey is advising to those 1,700 who have been mailed the ballots with the incorrect language on them to destroy them-- and wait for the new ballots to arrive.
As for the 27 voters who have already completed and returned their ballots to the county clerk's office at the courthouse -- they can not be changed.
Nearly t10,000 people have requested to vote by mail. Those ballots pass through many hands before being counted. Local voters say..
Mary Baack-Garvey said 27 out of the 2,000 eligible absentee voters, voted with the outdated summary ballot Tuesday.