County to seek compensation from company that supplied flawed election ballots

Staff Report

Winnebago County will seek compensation from the company that supplied ballots for the March 20 primary election that were one-sixteenth-inch too large to fit in counting machines.

The flaw affected 36 percent of the 23,400 ballots cast in Winnebago County, forcing the county to reprint and remake 8,564 ballots from its inventory.

The county paid Addison, Ill.-based ABS Graphics $14,300 for 65,000 ballots. According to reports, the company said a slight blade misalignment was responsible for the flaw, which also affected about 24 other counties throughout the state.

In Winnebago County, the flaw led to elections officials remaking ballots by hand. Members of both the Democratic and Republican parties were called on by Winnebago County Clerk Margie Mullins to assist with the ballot remaking.

Candidates, including Winnebago County Board chairman candidate Mike “C” Castronovo and state Senate candidates Steve Stadelman and Marla Wilson, questioned the move.

“Does anyone think it ‘strange’ that the non-readable ballots are being ‘hand re-copied’ by people who are often members of the campaigns of names ON THE BALLOTS???” Castronovo said in an e-mail. “AND the media are not allowed in the room to verify what’s happening! (Even in Florida [in 2000], media viewed the ‘chad’ problems.)”

Mullins plans to meet with ABS Graphics after her office is finished gathering information about the extra costs incurred by the ballot flaw. Mullins said she has worked with the company for 20 years.

From the March 28-April 3, 2012, issue