BILLINGS— The Yellowstone County elections office sent out about 2,000 ballots with the wrong barcode on the return envelope, causing some to be routed to a post office instead of directly to the elections office.
Election Administrator Dayna Causby told MTN her office is at fault, having sent out old envelopes that staff believed were still usable.
Watch the report below:
"All of our post offices here in Montana talk closely with each other. We're not the only county who did realize that some of our ballots had incorrect return barcode information," Causby said Tuesday.
Related; 'A Lot of Extra Work’: Volunteers Fix Thousands of Misprinted Ballot Envelopes
Gallatin County had the same problem, with misprints on more than 62,000 ballot envelopes, which the county corrected in April with the help of volunteers.
Causby said most envelopes with the mistake should have stayed within Yellowstone County, delaying delivery by about a day. Montana state law does not allow counting of ballots received after Election Day.
“As long as the ballot was mailed within the city limits, we received it back the very next day,” said Causby.
One voter, Billings resident Eddy Sarb told MTN he turned in his ballot at MetraPark, because he wanted to make sure his vote counted.
"I wanted to make sure my vote got in... and I wanted to be part of it. I thought it was important for a civic duty to, you know, get engaged, and a lot of people don't. And I feel it's my responsibility to be a good citizen," he told MTN as he was leaving the polls.
Voters can check their voting status online at the Montana Voter Portal.
