PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Clackamas County Board of County Commissioners Chair Tootie Smith is reacting after primary election ballots were found to have defective barcodes due to a printing error.
Smith said she was “aghast” after learning about the issue with the ballots and that she spoke with Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan on Friday morning about the ballot error.
“Nothing is more honorable and sacred than the integrity of elections and full trust in the outcome,” Smith said in a lengthy statement on Friday. “Regardless of intent or innocence of a mistake, there will be lingering questions about this election and the process used to remedy the situation.”
Smith continued in her statement, saying Clackamas County Elections will move forward using the Oregon law’s method to “ensure accuracy and honor voter intent,” but warned election results may “be delayed by the sheer volume of affected ballots, which is not completely known at this time.”
Earlier this week, election officials in Clackamas County announced they realized there was an issue with barcodes on ballots issued to voters across the county.
It’s unclear how many barcodes are unreadable at this time, but Clackamas County Clerk Sherry Hall told KOIN 6 News the number of impacted ballots is high — likely two-thirds of the 309,000 ballots sent to voters. Returned ballots will still be counted — but in this case, by hand.
The primary election is slated for May 17.