Thousands of residents from California received an automated recall on Tuesday that the ballot day is next week – with the exception of most voters, this is not the case.
The erroneous messages sent by e-mail to Los Angeles County and to the voters of the County of Orange arrived with a line of object which said “a week to return your ballot”, and told the voters that “is the Last day for your voting bulletin to be sent by post office and the mail stamp “,» omit the day. The reminders sent by SMS said: “Place your voting bulletin in a nearby deposit box or a place to vote before 8 pm.”
Elections officials said that incomplete messages came from Ballottrax, the software that sends automated messages to voters on the state of their voting ballots by mail. The company based in Denver has been working with the Secretary of State of California since 2020.
Steve Olsen, president of Ballottrax, said that automated reminders should have been issued to around 100,000 voters in two legislative districts which include parts of the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Kern and Tulare. Special primary elections take place in these districts next week.
“Due to a geo-cibal targeting error, the recall went to many other voters,” said Olsen in an email. He said that the company was still investigating and sending a retraction as soon as they determine which voters have received the messages by mistake.
The Los Angeles County Registrar of the County Registraire said that “almost all” the voters of the County of Los Angeles who subscribe to the Ballottrax updates had received erroneous messages.
“We apologize for any confusion that this has caused,” said a representative of the Secretary of State of California, Shirley Weber.
Voters of the San Gabriel Valley, Santa Monica and the San Fernando Valley said they had received messages for voters from the State Senate District 36, which extends to the County of Coastal Orange, Little Saigon and parts of the southern county.
This district has a primary election on February 25 to replace the former state senator Janet Nguyen, who resigned in November after winning a seat on the Comté d’Orange supervisors.
In the central valley, the voters of the counties of Tulare and Kern will vote next week to fill the vacant position of the State assembly left by the Bakersfield Republican, Vince Fong, who was elected last year The House of Representatives of the United States.
California Daily Newspapers
