Palm Beach supervisor notifies voters after absentee-ballot printing error; Wellington clears village of fault
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Summary
Council was briefed that absentee ballots contained a printing error; Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections (referred to as Wendy) notified staff that the error originated in her office. Affected absentee ballots will be earmarked and voters contacted to receive replacement ballots.
During agenda review on Feb. 9, staff reviewed resolution R2026-66 — the village’s voter processing equipment and election services agreement with the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections — and reported a recent absentee-ballot printing error.
Speaker 11, discussing the county agreement, said that the Supervisor of Elections informed the village the issue stemmed from a printer error. The Supervisor’s office is contacting affected voters by mail, phone and text. Speaker 11 explained that absentee ballots carry a unique number, and ballots that arrive having been voted prior to outreach will be identified, earmarked and set aside so the voter can be offered the opportunity to cast a replacement ballot.
Council members confirmed that the village’s information was accurate and that the error originated in the Supervisor’s office. Speaker 11 reiterated the county official’s explanation that the error was a proofreading/printing mistake in the Supervisor’s process and not caused by the village. Staff said the village’s voter budgetary allocation accounted for cyclical variations in election cycles and absentee-ballot costs.
The item was informational at the agenda review; the underlying intergovernmental agreement and election costs will proceed as budgeted and presented to the council for approval as part of the election-cycle services item.
