The Wyandotte County Election Office learned this week that it had misprinted the return address on a slew of mail-in ballots, and some voters were having their completed ballots sent back with “address unknown.”
Wyandotte County Election Commissioner Michael Abbott said nearly 3,000 of the mail-in ballots contain an outdated address that routes to a post office box that is no longer in use. The correct address is 850 State Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas, 66101.
Abbott allegedly told Erik Murray, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, that at least 10 Wyandotte County residents completed their mail-in ballots and sent them to election officials at the incorrect address. The ballots were returned to the voters just days later.
While nearly half of the faulty mail-in ballots have made their way back to the Wyandotte County offices, more than half remain unaccounted for.
Murray said the election office is unsure where the outstanding ballots are.
“To my knowledge, [this] has not happened before,” Murray said. “Some portion of those might already be in the mail and on their way to the office. Sadly, some portion of those may be on their way returned back to voters, and some portion of those voters are holding onto (the ballots).”
Abbott allegedly informed Murray that a former deputy election commissioner incorrectly labeled the mail-in ballot envelopes.
Election officials say that Kansas voters who received the ballots stamped with the wrong return address can get a provisional ballot directly from the election office. These ballots, officials say, will be accepted in place of a mail-in ballot with the wrong return address.
“No one wants to be accused of trying to vote twice,” Murry said. “The good news is they will know that you already were issued a mail-in (ballot).”
Polling locations in Wyandotte County will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day.
Mail-in ballots that arrive three days after Election Day will still count if they were postmarked by Election Day.
