Candidates in two Minnesota House races have their parties misprinted on ballots handed out to early voters in two counties.
Democrat Joe Staloch and Republican state Rep. Peggy Bennett have their parties incorrectly printed on ballots going out in Faribault County, and in Wabasha County, voters in one town have the wrong state legislative race printed. Minnesota law requires both of these problems to be addressed in court.
“They are still using those ballots right now,” Bennett, who is incorrectly listed as a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party on the ballots in Faribault County, told KSTP-TV. “They have to, by law, allow people to vote. New ballots are being printed.”
Bennett said that while she does not believe fraud is involved, she is concerned about how mistakes like this one could affect voters’ confidence in electoral systems.
“To have a fairly significant, not fairly, it’s a seriously significant mistake, like that really surprised me,” Bennett said.
“When people hear this kind of thing, it’s right away, ‘No, this is fraud’ … and I want to assure people this is not fraud at the county or state level. This was a mistake,” Bennett continued.
Meanwhile, in Wabasha County, voters in Zumbro Falls received ballots with the candidates listed from House District 20A despite Zumbro Falls being in House District 20B. Republican Steve Jacob represents 20B, but the ballots listed the nearby race as involving Republican Rep. Pam Altendorf, who represents 20A.
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“These errors are unacceptable and need to be quickly resolved by the Secretary of State and the county to ensure voters in Zumbro aren’t disenfranchised,” Jacob and Altendorf said in a joint statement.
On the Minnesota secretary of state’s website, a sample ballot for Zumbro Falls includes the same error, but the website has the correct race listed. Additionally, Zumbro Falls votes entirely by mail, sparking another problem with the misprint.
