WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — In Luzerne County, officials are dealing with some mail-in ballot issues.
More than 23,000 mail-in ballots have been requested in the county. Earlier this week, the county learned that 1,500 mail-in ballots for voters in select wards of Wilkes-Barre were coded wrong.
The county says a data mismatch caused the issue.
Those ballots have since been voided, and election workers are sending out new ballots.
"The ballot is correct; it is just certain individuals received a ballot for a ward they did not reside in. Those ballots have been canceled, and new ballots should be going out," Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo said.
A couple dozen mail-in ballots were also sent to voters without a secrecy envelope. That envelope is one of the most important steps in sending a ballot back to be counted.
The county manager and elections director say both of these situations were the result of third-party vendors.
Any voter who needs a secrecy envelope should notify the county before filling out their ballot to make sure it's counted.
Election Director Eryn Harvey says these issues were out of the election bureau's control.
"Unfortunately, things happen. It was a vendor error, and we are trying to work through it and make sure we get everything out to the voters," Harvey said.
Crocamo says they planned some extra time into their election prep schedule in case of any issues.
"In case something happened, and we needed a cushion and needed enough time to resolve any type of issue that came up, and they have. We are resolving them. There will be no voter who will be disenfranchised because of either situation," Crocamo vowed.
In the past two elections, Luzerne County has had significant issues with paper at the polls. Harvey says the paper has been ordered, and everything needed is ready to go.
"We just finished yesterday our logic and accuracy testing. We are good to go; every machine is programmed, and we will finish sealing all of these machines next week. We have enough paper, so we do not anticipate that being an issue," Harvey said.
Any voter who thinks there is an issue with their ballot should contact the Luzerne County Bureau of Elections.