Merced County launches new online election tool to help voters affected by ballot issues
Merced County has added a new online tool that will help voters determine whether they need to complete a corrected ballot in next week’s Nov. 8 election.
The new tool, available in both English and Spanish, uses GIS mapping and allows voters to type in or manually search for their address to see if they reside in a precinct where a corrected ballot was issued. There is a box in the lower left-hand corner of the screen informing users whether or not they’re in an affected precinct.
County officials became aware of issues existing with some ballots mailed out for the 2022 election last month. Precinct issues associated with the redistricting process resulted in some ballots containing incorrect local races.
“Merced County is committed to safeguarding the integrity of its elections and will continue working diligently to resolve the aforementioned ballot issues,” said Merced County spokesperson Mike North.
Corrected ballots were mailed on Oct. 17, 2022 to affected voters—those corrected ballots are marked with a “#2” located on the outside of the Vote-By-Mail envelope.
The ballot issues led to concerns and protests by some Merced County candidates and residents, who felt the mistakes would affect the integrity of the elections.
The new Election Tool is another effort by Merced County to ensure voters are aware of the ballot issues and provided with clear solutions to submit the corrected one.
All affected voters also received a letter from the Merced County Elections office with instructions on how to identify the correct ballot to complete and return.
Affected voters also received a call or email if they had a current phone number or email address on file with the Registrar of Voters Office.
The Merced County 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.
If 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.
The Election Tool can be located at www.countyofmerced.com.
If you have questions about your ballot, please call the Merced County Elections Office at 209-385-7541.
This story was originally published November 3, 2022 at 11:52 AM.
