Almost 100,000 voters in Brooklyn were sent absentee ballots with the wrong names and addresses

(Image credit: LOGAN CYRUS/AFP via Getty Images)

published 29 September 2020

Nearly 100,000 Brooklyn voters received absentee ballots that had the wrong names and addresses printed on the return envelopes, CNN reports.

Completed ballots in New York need to be placed inside an initial "oath" envelope — which displays the voter's name, address, and voter ID — and the oath envelope then gets placed inside a second envelope, which is mailed back to local election officials. A mistake by a third-party vendor contracted to print and mail the ballots for voters in Brooklyn and Queens, however, has led to some 99,477 voters receiving an oath envelope with the personal information of a different voter.

Michael Ryan, the election board's executive director, said that the BOE would "do everything that it needs to do ... to ensure that all of the ballots received are appropriately processed and the votes that are tallied are properly credited to the voters who have participated in the process." But the mistake still only fuels claims by President Trump and his allies, who've sought to shake confidence in what experts say is a secure and safe absentee voting process.

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Ryan added that everyone who was potentially affected will receive a new ballot with an explanation of why; voters who received envelopes with the wrong name are also asked to contact the Board of Elections via Twitter, email, or by calling 1-866-868-3692 (New Yorkers can also track their ballots here). So far, a total of 520,000 absentee ballots have been sent out in the city across all boroughs, and just over a million people nationwide have cast their votes in the election.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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