Greene elections board announces corrective measures for ballots with mistakes
Following an error on mail-in and absentee ballots that asked people to vote for up to three commissioner candidates rather than two, the Greene County Elections Board has said those who voted for three candidates will be able to cast in-person provisional ballots on election day, or cast a new ballot at the county elections office.
It’s a solution county officials had to come up with quickly after it was discovered over the weekend that the ballots contained the inaccuracy. The county’s solicitor, Robert “Gene” Grimm, was in contact with officials at the Pennsylvania Department of State to determine how the county should proceed. This is also the second time in as many weeks that mistakes have been found on ballots that have been sent to Greene County voters.
In a release issued Tuesday, the board said voters who mistakenly voted for three commissioner candidates rather than two can “cure” their ballots by stopping at Greene’s elections bureau, located on the first floor of the county office building at 93 E. High St., in Waynesburg, and requesting a new ballot. The previous ballot the voter cast would then not be counted.
Hours at the elections office have been extended to 7 p.m. on weekdays until next Monday. The office will also be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
A second option would have a voter reporting to their polling place next Tuesday and casting a provisional ballot that would correct their original ballot. A letter is also being sent to voters who requested an absentee or mail-in ballot alerting them to the error and how it can be fixed.
People who voted for three candidates and do not correct the error will not have their votes tabulated in the commissioners contest, since it would be considered an “over vote.”
The county commissioners’ contest has four candidates for the three-member board: Republicans Betsy Rohanna McClure and Jared Edgreen; and Democrats Blair Zimmerman and Chris Bailey. Rohanna McClure and Zimmerman are both incumbents. The third member of the current board, Mike Belding, is not seeking re-election.
Belding, who serves on the county’s election board, has said about 1,800 ballots were sent out. The mistake was described as a “printing error” in a news release sent by the county Tuesday. The county’s elections board reviewed and signed off on the ballots before they were printed.
Earlier this month, mail-in and absentee ballots that were sent to Greene voters had to be recalled because they listed both of the county’s races for magisterial district judge when they should have listed just one or none at all, since there is no election in one of the county’s magisterial districts. School board candidates were also listed incorrectly on the ballots.
The error in the commissioners’ contest also existed on that ballot, but was not corrected when new ballots were sent out.
The news release said that officials “also take this opportunity to apologize for your inconvenience in assisting the county in assuring that every legally cast vote counts.”
Bailey said she hoped the ballot error “doesn’t deter the elderly, homebound and military from voting,” and noted that they would have the hardest time traveling to the county’s elections office or going to their polling place next Tuesday.
Bailey also believes that the problems with the ballot reflect the churn of employees through the county elections office. The office has had five different directors since 2020, with the most recent one starting this month.
“There’s constant turnover in every office in the county,” Bailey said.
Rohanna McClure said she and Zimmerman were precluded from any involvement with the elections board because they are candidates, and “have not had any involvement with any ballot issues. … Neither of us are accountable for the errors on the ballots.”
Edgreen and Zimmerman did not respond to requests for comments about the error.