Numerical figures are the same in English and Spanish – except on the ballots prepared for the Dodge City USD 443 bond issue. In the English version of the ballot question, the proposed bond amount is not to exceed “$85,600,000.” In the Spanish translation on the ballot, the number – “$85,600,00” – has the correct commas but is missing the last zero. Ballots for the mail election began arriving in voters’ mailboxes last week. They are due back in the Ford County Clerk’s office June 25, and some ballots already have been returned. “The typo in and of itself does not invalidate an election,” said Bryan Caskey, state director of elections in Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s office.
Caskey did not know of a mechanism granting the Secretary of State or any other governmental entity the authority to declare an election invalid while voting is taking place. After election results are certified, however, the election could be officially contested, he said.
Caskey said Ford County Clerk Sharon Seibel said the ballot was correct when it was sent to the printer. The error occurred at the printer’s, and it wasn’t caught in proofreading, Caskey was told.
Seibel talked to the Ford County attorney’s office and to USD 443 representatives, Caskey said. He said both the school district and the county clerk’s office intend to do “public outreach” so the public knows the correct amount is $85.6 million.
Full Article: Dodge City USD ballot leaves ‘0’ off bond cost.
.