Peoria City Council candidate Ken Krieger’s name was not on ballots sent out last week to more than 8,500 residents. County officials scrambled to fix their error by mailing out replacement ballots this week, but his name once again was left off. “All I wanted to be was on the ballot,” Krieger said. “I understand that mistakes can be made but when it happens twice, it’s just trampling on a person’s constitutional rights.” The repeated omission has forced Peoria officials to call an emergency City Council meeting today so council members can decide what to do next, Deputy City Clerk Linda Blas said. What that decision could be is unclear. “They’re still discussing (options),” Blas said. “The council will make the decision on what instructions they would like to give to (the) county.” Maricopa County Elections Department Director Karen Osborne said the city has various options, including a third attempt to send out the correct ballot or canceling this month’s primary election for the council district and holding it with the general election Nov. 4.
Krieger said he is meeting with lawyers to discuss options, and invoked the possibility of a lawsuit. He is one of three candidates running for Peoria’s Mesquite District seat, which represents north Peoria.
Fellow candidate Bridget Binsbacher said the council’s priority should be “to protect the integrity of the election” and voters’ rights.
Ben Toma, the third candidate, said he doesn’t think there is anything the county can do to make the election fair for everyone. “Truthfully, Mr. Krieger has now had his 15 minutes of fame over and over and over again, and this thing just went from local exposure to national exposure,” he said. “It’s really unfair to both Bridget and I what’s happened, and it’s not like we had anything to do with it.”
Full Article: Peoria council candidate left off ballot — again.