COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – The City of Coldwater announced on Wednesday that 1,025 absentee ballots for the November 7 City of Coldwater general election that were to have been mailed on September 29, 2023 were lost after pick up from the City and were not delivered as required.
City Clerk Shauna Chavez said in a news release that the City is working with the Michigan Secretary of State Bureau of Elections, the United States Post Office and its third-party bulk mailing contractor to correct the situation.
Chavez says in response, the original set of absentee ballots will be officially “spoiled” and new ballots (with an orange highlight) will be issued and mailed to the affected registered voters.
If a registered voter does receive a second ballot in the mail, they should either bring it to the clerk’s office to be destroyed or destroy it at home.
The City has procedures in place to ensure that only one ballot will be counted for each registered voter, and only the second issued ballots will be counted.
Residents can contact Chavez at (517) 279-6928 or schavez@coldwater.org to request a new ballot or to discuss questions or concerns.
Chavez says, “the City is apologizing for any inconvenience that this may cause but is committed to conducting an accurate and fair election.”
Its this kind of negligence that causes distrust by Michigan voters!