16,000 Faulty Ballots Mailed Out In Montgomery County

NORRISTOWN, PA — Roughly 16,000 incorrectly printed mail-in ballots have been sent out to voters in Montgomery County due to a programming error made by the ballot vendor, county election officials announced. The faulty ballots were only printed on one side and therefore should "easily identifiable" to those who received them, authorities said.

New, two-sided ballots have been sent out to all impacted residents, and are expected to arrive within a week. The faulty ballots have been canceled.

"We sincerely regret that this happened and are working with the county and state to ensure impacted voters receive a new ballot," Chip Gallaher, the CEO of NPC, the ballot vendor, said in a statement. "Once the error was recognized, we immediately stopped production and began to investigate."

If you received a faulty, one-sided ballot, destroy the ballot and envelopes. Residents will also be notified by phone or email if they received a bad ballot.

Officials do not expect the issue to impact the election, as ballots will still be received by voters several weeks before election day.

The county's director of elections, Dori Sawyer, said that the error "does not meet the standard we have come to expect from NPC."

“Upon notification of the error, we began working with the Department of State, taking the proper steps to cancel the incorrect ballots and issue replacements," Sawyer said. "We appreciate the patience of our voters while we re-issue corrected ballots.”

Voters who applied to vote by mail can still choose to vote in person instead of returning their mail-in ballot. Simply return your mail-in ballot at your polling place before casting your vote.

The election is set for Nov. 2.

For further voting assistance through the county, residents can submit a request online or call voter services at (610) 278-3280.