Early voting has been delayed — again. According to Elections Board Chairman Arturo Watlington Jr., early voting for the Aug. 4 Democratic primary will now begin Monday and end July 25. The announcement, made Thursday at a Board of Elections meeting, marks the third delay in early voting for the primary, with dates previously scheduled for July 10 and July 14. The date changes are largely because of a delay in paying a Nebraska-based contractor — Elections System and Software — an estimated $18,000 for developing and shipping the ballots to the territory, according to Watlington.
“The contractor is saying they want to be assured that the payment is in their account before they ship ballots out,” Watlington said. “We expect that payment to be processed tomorrow and they will start shipping ballots out Saturday.”
Watlington added that Gov. Kenneth Mapp recently approved an appropriation to fund the primary, which was another sticking point causing delays.
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