Scores of West Michigan voters are receiving inaccurate ballots for the November election after a mistake in Muskegon County left one candidate off the ticket for the Grand Haven school board.
Muskegon County election officials alerted the Norton Shores city clerk on Friday that about 600 absentee ballots mailed out to voters in the southern part of the municipality failed to include all candidates for Grand Haven Area Public Schools’ Board of Education.
“What we’re doing here is we’re getting ready to send out letters … letting them know we’re sending out replacement ballots,” Norton Shores clerk Rachel Pavich told The Midwesterner. “We only have about 600 voters that have a ballot with the missing candidate.”
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Pavich said the mistake “happened on the county level,” though she was unclear what exactly caused the mishap. Muskegon County Clerk Karen Buie’s office did not return a message left Monday seeking details about the issue. There is no mention of the problem on the county website, in its press releases, or on the government’s social media.
The Grand Haven school district is located in Ottawa County, but serves families in southern Muskegon County.
The district has five candidates running for two full six-year terms on the board, while four others are running for a partial term that expires in 2026.
David Olthof, Heather Herrygers and Steven Skodak are running for the partial term. Incumbent Kristal Boyd is running against Joshua Spurr, Cyndi Casemier, Helen Brinkman and Tommy VanHill for the two full terms, according to the Grand Haven Tribune.
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Pavich said Casemier was not included on absentee ballots mailed out Sept. 30, and officials in Norton Shores are now awaiting new ballots for Precinct 5, the only precinct in the city impacted by the snafu.
“Hopefully we get them this week,” Pavich said, adding the intent is to send the corrected ballots early next week.
Norton Shores officials did not realize Casemier was absent from the ballot until notified by Muskegon County on Friday because “most offices don’t file at the local level,” Pavich said.
“I haven’t experienced this before,” she said.
The misprinted ballots that are returned will be counted unless voters return the corrected ballot before Election Day. If they do, or opt to vote on Election Day, the misprinted ballot will not be counted, she said.
Ottawa County officials told The Midwesterner they’re unclear how many Muskegon County ballots were impacted.
“Unfortunately, that is a Muskegon County issue,” a clerk said.
Casemier posted about the ordeal on Facebook.
“Muskegon County will be sending out new ballots to all of the 2,300 Muskegon County District 3 voters (you live in Norton Shores in the GH school district) affected by this mistake,” she wrote. “Voters will have to re-submit to Norton Shores. If you have not voted, wait for the second ballot to be mailed to you.”
The issue follows others this election cycle in St. Clair Shores, Carrolton Township, and elsewhere in Michigan.
Last week, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed criminal charges against four voters and two clerks in St. Clair Shores over four double votes that were counted in the municipality’s August primary.
The case centers on four voters who cast absentee ballots that were counted, before arriving at polling locations to cast a second ballot on Aug. 6 in three different precincts. Those voters, and clerks who helped them, now face up to five years in prison, if convicted.
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Also last week, Carrollton Township officials issued an “urgent notice” over absentee ballot envelopes sent out with return labels addressed to the City of Wixom, an issue they blamed on “a printing mishap with our vendor.”
“We assure you that your AV Ballot is from CARROLLTON TOWNSHIP,” the notice read. “The inside purple and white envelope is labeled correctly!! You will also see that your BALLOT is for your precinct and you are voting a CARROLLTON TOWNSHIP, SAGINAW COUNTY Ballot!!!”
That notice came about two days after nearly 100 voters in Ingham County’s Lansing Township received ballots for the wrong voting precinct.
Lansing Township Clerk Cortney Lightheart blamed the alphabetical system of ballot arrangement for the failure to properly address the ballots, WLNS reports.
Democratic Ingham County Clerk Barbara Byrum described the mistake as “human error.”
“That employee is no longer working for Lansing Township Clerk’s office, and the clerk is following the guidance we have provided to make sure the voters are notified and a replacement ballot has been sent,” Byrum said.