Ellis County election officer concerned about invalid LOB ballots

LOB envelope. Name and address of intended voter is on the left, the lettering in red indicates where voter must sign.

By KARI BLURTON
Hays Post

As mail-in ballots for USD 489’s local option budget election are coming in, the staff at the Ellis County Clerk’s office has concerns.

Ellis County Clerk Donna Maskus said only 31 percent of the more than 13,000 ballots have been returned, and staff are finding many of those ballots are not valid due to voter mistakes.

Maskus said that on Monday alone, 43 ballot envelopes with missing signatures on the envelope were mailed back to clerk’s office.

Maskus said the office has received many more unsigned envelopes. She stressed those ballots are invalid until the voter comes to her office in the courthouse office and signs it.

“We really want every ballot that comes back to be able to count it,” said Maskus. “But if a ballot envelope that comes back is not signed, we need the voter’s signature … before we can process it.”

Maskus and her staff are working to contact voters who have not signed the envelope, but said a lot of people do not have a contact phone number listed.

Maskus is encouraging anyone who feels they might have forgotten to sign the envelope to contact the Ellis County Clerk’s office immediately.

Maskus said another common mistakeis coming from households in which more than one qualified voter lives, therefore some people are signing the ballot envelope that was not addressed to them.

“Make sure you are signing your own ballot envelope,” she advised.

Additionally, Maskus said the office has hundreds of ballots that have been returned by the post office because the intended recipient has moved.

Maskus said if anyone in the USD 489 district has not received a ballot because of moving or a name change, voting provisionally is still an option.

All ballots must be returned to the Ellis County Clerk by noon Friday.

For any questions, to double-check your ballot envelope was returned and signed correctly, or if you have yet to receive a ballot, call the Ellis County Clerk’s office at (785) 628-9410.

For more information on the LOB election visit the USD 489 website or call (785) 623-2400.