Nearly 1,400 Republican voters received Democrat absentee ballots for Horry County runoff elections, officials say

CONWAY, S.C. (WMBF) - Election officials in Horry County have addressed an issue where nearly 1,400 Republican voters received Democratic absentee ballots ahead of the June 28 runoff elections.

In a statement issued Friday, the county said 1,377 Republican voters were incorrectly issued the opposite ballots due to “an error in the ballot printing and mailing process.”

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Officials added that Republican runoff ballots are being mailed out to voters beginning Friday and that the county is working with the U.S. Postal Service to ensure they’re delivered as quickly as possible.

The corrected ballot will also include this notice to voters:

As a result of a printer error, you were incorrectly mailed a Democratic Runoff absentee ballot. Your corrected Republican Runoff ballot is enclosed.

To vote, either:

• Vote and return the enclosed ballot to the Horry County Voter Registration and Elections Office at 1515 4th Avenue, Conway, 29526 before 7:00 p.m. on June 28, 2022.

OR

• Go to your polling place and vote on June 28.

Do NOT vote and return the Democratic Runoff ballot that you received in error. If you already voted and returned the Democratic Runoff ballot, the ballot will not count. It is not necessary to return the unvoted ballot to the voter registration office.

Officials added that the Horry County Board of Voter Registration and Elections works a contract with Sun Solutions, of West Columbia, for absentee ballot printing and smiling.

“When using a printing and mailing service, the county board provides the vendor with a file containing all the information necessary to provide the correct ballot to each voter. There was no error in the file provided by the Horry County Board. The error occurred during the vendor’s process. Sun Solutions says they are investigating the cause of the error,” the county wrote in a statement.

The issue also only occurred in Horry County and is not impacting any other areas.

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