Gloucester County sample ballots arrive postelection
Some Gloucester County residents have been receiving election-mail blasts from the past. Days after polls closed for the state's primary election, some county residents only this week received sample ballots for the June 2 election.
Some Gloucester County residents have been receiving election-mail blasts from the past.
Days after polls closed for the state's primary election, some county residents only this week received sample ballots for the June 2 election.
Officials say an apparent mailing problem is to blame. As of Thursday, some residents still had not received sample ballots - including county Election Superintendent Stephanie Salvatore.
"As angry as these voters are, none of these voters are as angry as I am," said Salvatore, of Mantua.
Salvatore said her office delivered approximately 184,000 sample ballots - one per voter - to a post office in Bellmawr on May 22 for distribution. Such ballots are to be sent out seven to 10 days before an election.
"Where they went, I don't know," Salvatore said.
A number of ballots - perhaps up to a quarter - never made it to voters' homes. Some apparently were not delivered from Bellmawr to local post offices.
Residents of Woodbury, Mullica Hill, Mantua, and West Deptford reported receiving the mailing this week, Salvatore said.
Postal Service spokesman Ray Daiutolo Sr. said in an e-mail that a team was examining the matter.
"I understand they are focusing on a small segment of this mailing," he said. "They are researching when and how this mail was prepared and presented.
"Postal Service has a proud tradition of participating in the democratic process by processing and delivering political campaign materials and election mail, including domestic and overseas absentee ballots."
Gloucester County's only contested primary races were in Paulsboro, where Democratic candidates sought seats on the borough council and as mayor. Salvatore said the mishap did not appear to affect mailings in Paulsboro or several other towns, including Newfield and Franklin. Sample ballots were also available online.
Salvatore said that to her knowledge, there were no towns in which no voters received ballots. State officials were notified of the error.
New Jersey Department of State spokeswoman Nora Walsh, speaking for the state's Division of Elections, said the county was handling the investigation but added: "We are fully aware and will be following up."
Salvatore estimated that the county spends about $68,000 per year mailing sample ballots for primary and general elections, and said he hoped the county would receive a reimbursement. She said she planned to use bar-code tracking in the future to keep tabs on ballots' whereabouts.
While the primary in Gloucester was mostly uneventful, Salvatore said, the ballots are an important part of the democratic process.
"It's an important tool to educate the voters," she said. "I'm taking every precaution to assure voters that this won't happen in the future."
