Election service company causes mail-in ballot confusion

Irregularities with mail-in ballot reception for the March 3 primary elections forced a special meeting of Freestone County Commissioners’ Court Monday morning.

Freestone County Clerk Linda Jarvis was on hand to answer questions from Commissioners on mail-in ballots being received in the incorrect precinct. Voters in Precinct No. 1, for example, were receiving Precinct No. 3 ballots, containing different elections.

Jarvis explained that the issues lie with voting organization SeaChange Election Services, which according to the company’s website produced more than 10.7 million ballots in 2014. SeaChange, which had worked with Freestone County elections in the past, did not follow through with an approved county list of correct locations for mail-in ballots. The Minneapolis-based company had not returned any phone calls or other communication attempts by the county as of the Monday meeting.

A number of 150 mail-in ballots were affected by the miscommunication with SeaChange. This includes 45 ballots in Precinct 1, 24 ballots in Precinct 2, 53 ballots in Precinct 3, and 28 ballots in Precinct 4. From Feb. 18 through Feb. 20, the county sent in-house corrected ballots to affected addresses. These ballots are of a yellow color, different than SeaChange’s white ballots, and come in a green letter from the county.

Precinct 3 Commissioner Michael Daniels broached the subject of the mail schedule, as ballots mailed in the early part of the week may not be returned in time for the election. If a corrected ballot is not received in time for the election, a voter’s first turned-in ballot will be counted, even if it is the original SeaChange document. Jarvis responded by saying she was unsure of how the mail delivery timing would work, and noted that SeaChange did not disclose when they sent out initial ballots. Precinct 3 Constable Pamela Brackens Barnes suggested opening a P.O. Box in Fairfield, so that mail would not have to be transferred out of Freestone County.

According to Texas state election law, the first turned in ballot must be counted as a vote.

If a Precinct 1 voter accidentally received a Precinct 3 ballot, and then voted in the Precinct 3 Commissioner election without correcting the ballot in time, the Precinct 1 vote will count as part of the Precinct 3 election.

Section 86.009 of the Texas Election code states that if a voter’s defective ballot is timely returned to an elections clerk, and no corrected ballot is timely returned, it shall be treated “as the voter’s ballot for the election.”

Jarvis said she attempted with the Texas Secretary of State office to make a change on the ruling, but to no avail.

“We’ve done everything we could possibly do,” she said. As of Monday, 17 correct

As of Monday, 17 corrected ballots have been returned. The court urged mail-in ballot voters to fill out the corrected form as soon as possible, and also offered alternative voting solutions.

Drop-offs for corrected ballots may be handed in on the day of the election only, March 3 at the County Courthouse. Voters can also visit a polling location on March 3, sign a waiver surrendering their previous ballot, and then cast a traditional vote.

At 7 p.m. on March 3, the Clerk’s office will open ballot boxes that will be divided between original SeaChange ballots and corrected county ballots. The bipartisan Ballot Board will then match up signatures from voters’ original and corrected ballots for authenticity, using the corrected ballot as that persons’ vote.

The court noted that the impact of the miscommunication would not be felt until the actual counting of votes on March 3.

County Attorney Brian Evans described the discrepancy between SeaChange ballots and corrected ballots as an “error zone,” and hopes with received corrected ballots that the “zone” will be the smallest number possible.

There is no current planned course of action if the SeaChange ballots were determined to have played an impact role in counting of county elections.

Jarvis noted that there is no plan to pay SeaChange for their services, and that she has been in touch with attorneys over the matter.