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Wrong ballots mailed for Delavan City Council races

DELAVAN — An error in the Delavan City Clerk’s office meant more than 100 absentee ballots mailed out last week listed the wrong city council races.

After sending out a second round of ballots with the correct council elections, the city now hopes voters will send back the right ballot before Election Day on April 2.

Delavan City Clerk Sue Kitzman said the mix-up happened when she incorrectly coded labels on 106 vote-by-mail absentee ballots, which were sent out March 11.

As a result, voters in one city district received ballots that listed a city council race happening in another district.

Third-district councilman Ryan Schroeder said he received calls from confused voters who didn’t see his name on their ballot, while others in the city’s 2nd District saw his race on theirs.

“Regardless of whether they vote for me or against me I just want to make sure that they have the right ballot and that their vote is correctly counted,” Schroeder said.

After hearing about the issues and getting approval from the state’s Government Accountability Board, which oversees elections, Kitzman said she sent out corrected ballots March 15.

Voters who received both ballots should be sure to fill out the second one and send it back before April 2, even if they already returned the first ballot, Kitzman said.

The clerk’s office will count the second ballot and void the first, she said.

If someone sent back the first ballot, their votes for city council would not be counted because they do not live in that district, Kitzman said. Still, their votes on state- or county-wide issues—such as the state Supreme Court race and a bond measure for Gateway Technical College—would be counted, she said.

The absentee ballots mostly go out to seniors or those unable to get to the polls, Kitzman said.

The mistake should not have any impact on people voting in person April 2, she said.