Merced County issuing corrected Vote-By-Mail Ballots to some voters in Merced, Los Banos, Santa Nella, Gustine, Atwater
ELECTION UPDATE …
This week, Merced County officials became aware of issues existing with some ballots mailed out for the 2022 General Election. Precinct issues associated with the redistricting process resulted in some ballots containing incorrect local races.
The California Secretary of State’s office was notified and has been involved throughout the process.
Staff worked late into the night this week conducting a comprehensive internal review to assess the scope of the issue. The affected precincts have been identified and can be found in the list below. You can check if you reside in an impacted precinct by comparing the precinct number in the upper right-hand corner of your ballot with the list below.
Corrected ballots will be printed this weekend and mailed out on Monday only to the affected voters. The corrected ballots will be marked with a “#2” located on the outside of the Vote-By-Mail envelope.
All affected voters will receive a letter from the Merced County Elections Office with instructions on how to identify the correct ballot to complete and return. Affected voters will also receive a call or email if they have a phone number or email address on file with the Registrar of Voters Office.
Anyone choosing to vote in person at a Voting Assistance Center will receive an updated ballot if they reside in one of the impacted precincts. Additionally, the Elections Office will review each ballot submitted from the affected precincts to ensure that voters returned the correct ballot. If an incorrect ballot is returned, the Elections Office will reach out to the voter to assist with returning a correct ballot prior to 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.
In the event that a voter returns an original ballot containing errors and does not return an updated ballot, only the races pertaining to the district he or she resides in will be counted. The entire ballot will not be voided.
Merced County is committed to safeguarding the integrity of its elections and will continue working diligently to resolve the aforementioned ballot issues. While ballot discrepancies do sometimes occur, we pride ourselves in delivering quality services to the community and apologize for any confusion or concern these errors caused. Moving forward, administrative and elections personnel will develop an action plan to help limit future errors of this nature.
If you have questions about your ballot, please call the Merced County Elections Office at 209-385-7541. Every voter should have also received a Voter Information Guide in the mail. If you did not receive one in the mail, please call the Elections Office so a copy can be provided.
Affected Precincts/Areas:
•142-2 Los Banos Measure D
•174-3 Los Banos Measure D
•180-0 Santa Nella Measure D
•180-1 Santa Nella Measure D
•186-1 Los Banos Measure D
•230-0 Merced City Council District 4
•230-1 Merced City Council District 4
•236 Merced City Council District 4
•254 Merced City Council District 6
•340 Merced City Council District 6
•423-2 Gustine Measure D
•461 Atwater Elementary School District Area 5
Please Note: Voted ballots must be returned in person no later than 8:00 p.m. on Election Day or postmarked on or before Election Day and received within 7 days to be counted.
You can track the status of your ballot at: wheresmyballot.sos.ca.gov
For more information regarding Merced County Elections, please visit www.mercedelections.org