FARIBAULT COUNTY, Minn. — Voters in Faribault County may have been confused to see candidates for State Representative in District 23A mistakenly listed as belonging to a different political party.
The error was acknowledged by the Minnesota Secretary of State Office Friday evening. In a press release, Secretary Steve Simon said the misprint is limited to ballots in Faribault County, and 17 ballots were "issued in error."
On the ballot, Joe Staloch, a DFLer, is listed as a Republican. Incumbent Rep. Peggy Bennett, a Republican, is listed as a member of the DFL.
Secretary Simon said county officials will be "pursuing corrective action through the courts." The corrective action will include instructions being sent to voters who received and returned an incorrect ballot to ensure their vote is counted correctly, he said.
"In every election, despite the best efforts of our hard-working county election officials, mistakes happen. Our office is thankful for the swift action of Faribault County officials after learning of the error and is committed to partnering with them where appropriate to ensure this mistake is remedied for all impacted voters as soon as possible," Simon said in a press release.
Rep. Bennett expressed disappointment Friday, saying she is "already losing votes" due to the "blunder."
“It is just disappointing that these ballots weren’t double-checked for errors by the Secretary of State’s Office before being printed. Election integrity matters, and distributing inaccurate ballots to the county certainly undermines election integrity in our state,” she said in a press release.
Staloch said in a Facebook post that the error is "unfortunate" but it is "important to remain calm."
"I’m proud to be a Democrat but, as I understand it, our founding fathers weren’t to keen on parties themselves. If I haven’t done enough or my opponent hasn’t done enough to get elected on our own merits without the benefit of a D or an R next to our names then WE have failed you not someone sitting at a desk at a print shop in St. Paul," he said in the social media post.
The error is limited to Faribault County, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State Office. Ballots in Freeborn, Steele, and Waseca counties are not impacted.
