Inaccurate Mailing Sent To Fairfax County Voters

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — A mailing going out to Fairfax County voters from a nonprofit organization has incorrect information, according to Fairfax County's Office of Elections.

The mailing from the Center for Voter Information includes pre-filled absentee ballot applications with return envelopes. The problem is, the return address is the City of Fairfax's registrar, not Fairfax County's.

"This mailing is causing great confusion and concern among voters who have been contacting our office,” said Fairfax County General Registrar Gary Scott in a news release. "While the mailing may appear to be from an official government agency, the Fairfax County Office of Elections did not send it."

A county statement says the absentee ballot application went out to voters without their request. The mailing is also causing confusion among voters who already requested ballots from Fairfax County.

The county is working with the City of Fairfax to ensure applications received from the inaccurate mailing will be processed by Fairfax County.

Jonathan Shapiro, President and CEO of Smith-Edwards-Dunlap Company, the printing vendors for Center for Voter Information, said in a statement there was a printing errors.

"We sent voters in eight Virginia jurisdictions a vote-by-mail application with a reply envelope that was addressed to the wrong jurisdiction," the statement said. "This mistake occurred because we incorrectly aligned a spreadsheet that matched the voter with their local election office."

The Center for Voter Information also shared the following statement:

The Center for Voter Information recently sent vote by mail applications to voters in Virginia, encouraging them to safely participate in democracy. We are aware that some of the mailers may have directed the return envelopes to the wrong election offices, particularly in the Fairfax area of northern Virginia.

Approximately half a million applications sent to eligible voters in Virginia included incorrect information, and we are working diligently to address the issues. Mistakes in our programming are very rare, but we take them seriously, and our methods overall are extraordinarily effective. In fact, we have worked with our partner, the Voter Participation Center, to successfully generate nearly 800,000 vote by mail applications across the country, and helped over 5 million people register to vote in our history.

We know voters are on high alert as the November election approaches, and we regret adding to any confusion. Please rest assured that we are working with local election officials in Virginia to re-direct the vote by mail applications to the proper locations, and will rectify any errors at our own expense.

Absentee ballots or other election information from the Fairfax County Office of Elections is marked with the county seal an "Official Election Mail Authorized by the U. S. Postal Service" logo.

Fairfax County encourages voters to apply online for an absentee ballot, a more secure method than responding to unsolicited mailings. Voters can apply for absentee ballots and check the status of their application at vote.elections.virginia.gov. Voters who apply now will receive ballots after Sept. 18, when the absentee voting by mail period starts. In-person absentee voting will start at the Fairfax County Government Center on Sept. 18 and at 14 satellite locations on Oct. 14.

For more election information, visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/elections.