Newtown Destroys 2 Misprinted Absentee Ballots

NEWTOWN, CT — Town officials last week destroyed two misprinted absentee ballots for the Nov. 2 election, before any were erroneously mailed out to voters, according to Newtown Town Clerk Debbie Aurelia Halstead.

In a post on the town's Facebook page Monday, Halstead explained what happened, in an effort to end misconceptions about the matter that had been circulating on social media in recent days.

"Despite social media posts there are no incorrect absentee ballots circulating in the community," she wrote, adding the following:

• Two absentee ballots were issued with a misprint to voters who came into the office shortly after we opened on Friday.
• Both voters and the registrars were notified immediately that morning and the situation was rectified.
• No misprinted ballots were mailed out.
• New ballots have been ordered and the old ones have been destroyed.

Newtown — and the rest of the state — is holding municipal elections next month, and absentee ballots were mailed out on Monday, "in accordance with statutory regulations stating that absentee ballots are to be processed within 48 hours."

In a separate Facebook post Tuesday, the Newtown Registrar of Voters office reiterated Halstead's remarks, and assured voters that the misprint was caught well in advance.

"The purpose of this post was to ensure no one loses the right of their vote. No ballots were sent out until Monday, October 4th," the registrars wrote. "We have been told the two in person Voters were contacted and the mailed ballots received the correct ballot just on copy paper. These ballots will be hand counted on Election Day the same as any other ballot. The replacement ballots are ordered and will be here hopefully today."

The misprinted ballots had a Republican candidate listed incorrectly, reported the Newtown Bee.

"Our office will continue to work diligently to ensure a compliant and successful election," Halstead said.