Here's What Burlington County Residents Can Do About Ballot Issue

BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ — There are solutions in place for Burlington County voters who may have recently received a defective ballot or are experiencing any one of a number of other issues, officials said on Wednesday.

“This is a different kind of election with many voters making their selections via Vote-by-Mail ballots for the very first time,” Burlington County Clerk Joanne Schwartz said. “We know mistakes are going to be made, and we’re prepared for that. We printed a substantial number of extra ballots, so we have enough for new voters who register before the Oct. 13 deadline, but also plenty ready as replacements.”

Last week, Burlington County began mailing out more than 315,000 Vote-by-Mail ballots. They should arrive at most voters’ homes soon, officials said. All registered voters are expected to receive one without having to make a request.

However, some envelopes were ineffectively sealed, and an initial batch of ballots were mailed to voters in Evesham, Willingboro and Lumberton before the error was discovered. Read more here: Burlington County Finds Error In Vote-By-Mail Envelopes

Officials said the problem was fixed, but the extra ballots are available for anyone who has had issues, threw away their ballots by accident, damaged the ones they received or received the wrong ballot.

Any voter who has not received their ballot by Oct. 13 or is experiencing any other issues with their ballots should contact the Clerk’s Office at 609-265-5229 or votebymail@co.burlington.nj.us to arrange for a replacement.

They should contact the Superintendent of Elections Office if they receive one addressed to a deceased relative. The Superintendent’s Office can be reached at 609-265-5111 and will investigate and remedy any case of a deceased voter who remains on the voter registration rolls.

“We can mail voters a replacement ballot up to October 23. After that date, we can still provide a replacement, but the voter would need to come in-person to our office in Mount Holly. They can do so until the polls close on Election Day,” Schwartz said.

The clerk’s office can also provide replacement ballots to voters who believe they made an error while completing their ballot, provided the ballot has not already been mailed or submitted.

“We can help cure some ballot mistakes, but once a ballot has been received, a new ballot cannot be generated,” Schwartz said. “It’s the same as in a polling booth; once you push the button, it’s done.”

The clerk’s office reminds voters that forging the signature of any voter is a felony and that the Board of Elections cross-referencing the signature of all voters with the voter registration signature file.

Read more here: Burlington County Sends Out Ballots, Adds Voting Safeguards