MADERA – The Madera County Elections Department is issuing new ballots to a limited number of mountain area voters this week. Original ballots were mailed out Monday and election officials noticed that a small number of voters living outside of the Raymond-Knowles Union School District received a ballot with Measures “P” and “Q.”
“An inadvertent mistake occurred where some streets outside of the Raymond-Knowles Union School District were linked to the Measure “P” and “Q” school bonds,” explained Election Division Manager Stephanie Sibley. “The mistake was caught almost immediately after ballots were sent out so we are able to rectify this issue right away.”
Out of an abundance of caution, voters who received an incorrect ballot and have not yet returned it will be sent a replacement ballot.
With respect to any voter that has already voted and returned their ballot, procedures have been established to ensure that Measures “P” and “Q” will not be counted unless the voter resides in the Raymond-Knowles Union School District.
The Raymond-Knowles Union School District asked Madera County to place two school bond measures on the March 3 ballot. Only voters in the district are entitled to vote on the measure.
Because the elections department became aware of the issue early, they are able to rectify the problem well before any ballots are counted, ensuring that no one outside of the District will be voting on the bond measures.
In 2018 Madera County adopted the Voter’s Choice Act so every registered voter in Madera County was issued a vote by mail ballot. No postage is necessary for voters to return their ballot by mail but the County has opened 5 ballot drop boxes for voters who would prefer not to use the mail.
Voters wishing to vote in person may do so at any Madera County Vote Center. One Vote Center in Madera and one in Oakhurst will open on Saturday, Feb. 22 and will be open every day through March 3, including weekends.
Five additional vote centers, including centers in Coarsegold, Madera Ranchos and Chowchilla will open on Feb. 29 and remain open through March 3.
Vote Centers are open on weekends and those wishing to vote in person are encouraged to vote early. Long lines are expected on March 3 .
