Some Butler County absentee ballots mailed to wrong address

BUTLER COUNTY, Ohio (WXIX) - As Ohioans head to the polls to vote in the 2022 Midterm Election, some voters reported that their absentee ballots were mailed to the wrong location in Butler and Clermont counties.

With less than two weeks left until Election Day, a few Butler County residents noticed that their absentee ballots had the wrong return envelope.

“As I was looking to make sure all of the materials were there, I looked at the return envelope, [looked] at the address, and I thought, ‘now wait a minute, this says Clermont Board of Elections Batavia. We’re in Butler County,’” a Butler County registered voter said.

While the resident noticed the error on the return address, some Butler County ballots already arrived to Clermont County.

“I think it was probably, possibly an honest mistake, but I’m still - and I think a lot of people [are] - we’re still always suspicious,” the Butler County resident said.

According to the Butler County Board of Elections Deputy Eric Corbin, the address mistake was a “human error,” saying it affected up to 30 of the roughly 22,000 absentee ballots.

“Every vote matters, whether it’s a statewide race or not,” Corbin said. “I’ve certainly been involved in enough recounts and seen local races that are close enough that something like this could swing that vote.”

Both Butler and Clermont County Board of Elections use the same printing vendor, Graphic Village, Corbin added.

FOX19 reached out for a statement from Graphic Village, but has not heard back yet. However, Corbin says the printing vendor was notified and the mistake was fixed.

“The voters we contacted, some of them did have the correct envelope, so that was fantastic,” Cor said. “Others if they didn’t, we were able to provide them with the correct envelope.”

According to Corbin, the absentee ballots that were already sent in with the wrong return address will be valid, as Clermont County is working to retrieve them.

“Luckily this is a mistake that is able to be corrected and it’s not going to cost anybody their right to vote,” Corbin mentioned.

Voters who vote as an absentee can track their ballot at voteohio.gov/track to ensure their vote was received on time to the correct place.

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