Early voting has been temporarily suspended in the city of Burlington, after it was determined that five Republican candidates for Justice of the Peace were omitted from the ballot.
The error was brought to the attention of the city clerk’s office by the Burlington Republican Committee.
The clerk’s office says 422 early and absentee voters have already requested and received ballots. They will be sent corrected ballots and will need to vote again. All incorrect ballots will be rendered spoiled. Election machines will be reprogrammed to reject incorrect ballots. The new ballots are expected to be ready by early next week.
The cost to reprint the ballots is $10,000.
In a statement, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said he was disappointed that, for the second time in two years, the city had to correct a ballot.
“These avoidable and costly errors must end," he said. "I have directed CAO Bob Rusten to submit to me within 30 days after the election a new set of procedures for ensuring the accuracy of all ballot language, including verification of candidate information with Burlington’s political parties in advance of ballot publication.”
