A one-word error on a mail-in ballot insert has pushed a Wellington Village Council race into unwanted headlines and heated online discussions.
The word “not” was placed incorrectly on a ballot insert that went to a reported 170 mail-in voters before the error was corrected by the Supervisor of Elections Office.
The situation started when former candidate Paulo Santana dropped out of the race for Wellington’s Seat 3, leaving candidates Lauren Brody, Stephen Levin and Josh Zillmer remaining in the race.
Since Santana dropped out after the ballots were printed, a ballot insert is required be placed in the envelope with wording that “a vote cast for Paulo Santana will not count,” while also listing that votes for the remaining candidates will count. However, “will not count” was also used with Brody’s name, making it seem like she had also dropped out of the race.
The moment the ballots with the insert error arrived, Brody began getting calls and messages from concerned supporters.
“I spent the better part of the week dealing with this issue instead of simply campaigning,” Brody said. “I felt the need to spend campaign funds on additional mailers that I was not planning on doing.”
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For her part, Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Wendy Sartory Link took responsibility for the error, corrected the insert quickly and immediately began contacting the 170 voters who got the incorrect card.
Brody pushed for additional actions, and Link then decided to send letters explaining the situation to additional mail-in voters.
Brody, however, is not fully satisfied with the response.
“I am happy that she made more of an effort that she originally said that she would, but I remain dissatisfied,” Brody said. “I feel that in this day and age, there are more effective ways of reaching out to the population.”
In response to a public records request by Brody, a timeline of the error came into focus.
The initial round of mail-in ballots went out without an insert because Santana had not yet dropped out of the race. Once he dropped out, the Wellington Village Clerk’s Office sent the information correctly to Link’s office. Someone at Link’s office typed up the text of the insert card and sent it correctly to an outside printing contractor. Someone at the printing contractor re-typed the card and made the error, sending a proof to Link’s office. The proof was approved without catching the error.
The card was corrected once the error was caught, and voters currently requesting ballots up until the Feb. 26 deadline will receive them with correct inserts.
Brody has asked for additional information about the process and is unhappy with the response as of Tuesday, Feb. 17.
“There is still quite a bit of frustration from me, because I am asking for what I consider pretty basic information, and it has not been forthcoming,” she said, adding that timestamps on e-mails suggest that only two minutes elapsed between the proof arriving from the printing contactor and it being approved. “They did not put this card through their proper protocols.”
While Brody agreed that the Village of Wellington was not responsible for the error, she asked village officials to take more action than they have to help inform voters about the error. Village Manager Jim Barnes did put out a statement on social media addressing the error.
Whatever happens next, Brody believes that there will be a cloud over the election’s outcome.
“I do not believe that the election is fair for anybody,” she said. “Once something like this happens, it is an unfair and unjust election. Regardless of the outcome, I think there will consequences of this error.”
She also believes that village officials should be angrier at Link’s office than they appear to be. “The Village of Wellington pays them for their service, and they did a terrible job,” Brody said.
Brody’s opponents in the race agree that the mistake should not have happened.
“This was an unfortunate error on the part of the SOE, which has done all it can to rectify its mistake,” Levin said. “Thankfully, this was discovered quickly, and the election date is far enough away that there should be no impact on the results. All I, and everyone, wants, is for voters to be informed, and then cast their ballots.”
Zillmer is concerned that the mistake could have consequences beyond just one election.
“Fair and accurate elections are non-negotiable, and every voter deserves absolute confidence in the process,” he said. “I will always stand for election integrity and accountability. Protecting the voice of our residents is a fundamental responsibility of leadership. Wellington deserves leaders who put the community, the law and the integrity of the process above all else, and when I’m elected, that is exactly what I will continue to do.”
