Duplicate Pitkin County ballots caused by third-party printer error

Duplicate ballots were inadvertently sent to 164 registered Pitkin County voters due a printer error with a third-party vendor, according to a Friday news release from Pitkin County. 

“This error poses no threat to the integrity of the 2024 General Election due to the numerous safeguards in place that prohibit any person from casting more than one ballot,” Pitkin County said in the release.

The duplicate ballots have identical tracking barcodes, and a second ballot submission would be rejected by the ballot verification system should illegal election tampering occur, the release states.

Additionally, any envelope with more than one ballot is outstacked for rejection, and all signatures are individually verified to ensure a match with voter registration records. Any attempts to vote more than once are reported to the District Attorney’s office and could be subject to further investigation and penalties.

“We are confident in the safeguards in place to ensure that each of the more than 13,000 registered voters in Pitkin County are able to vote once — and only once,” Clerk and Recorder Ingrid K. Grueter said in the release. 

If a voter receives a duplicate ballot in Pitkin County, they are advised to vote only one ballot and shred and discard the duplicate. The 164 affected voters will receive a letter in the mail from the PItkin County Elections Department outlining this procedure. All other voters can proceed as normal with their ballot. Any concerns may be addressed by reaching out to the Pitkin County Elections Department at 970-429-2732. 

Robis Elections, which has worked with Pitkin County since November 2023, is contracted to print and mail election ballots, the release states. The organization was able to track down the error, which allowed for one tray of 164 ballots to be duplicated.  

According to Robis, each ballot packet is hand-checked before going in the mail, and no ballots are allowed to be reprinted without accounting for and destroying the ballot which is being replaced. 

“Unfortunately, on one known occasion, these reprint checks were not followed by the Robis mailing team,” Robis President David Davoust said in the release. “We understand the severity of this mistake and have taken steps to prevent this from occurring in the future, including greater controls during ballot reprints.”

Ballots have begun to arrive in local mailboxes, and voters are encouraged to use available drop boxes to submit their ballots early, before Election Day on Nov. 5, 2024. Ballots must be received by 7 p.m. then. 

Secure drop boxes, which have 24/7 video surveillance, are located at 530 E. Main Street in Aspen, 130 Kearns Road in Snowmass Village, and 101 Midland Ave. in Basalt. On Election Day only, there will also be a drop box in Redstone, 213 Redstone Blvd., open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m.

In-person voting begins Oct. 21 at the Pitkin County Administration Building, 530 E. Main St. in Aspen. On Election Day, there will be in-person voting available in the Snowmass Village Town Hall, 130 Kearns Road, and Basalt Library, 14 Midland Ave. The Elections Department encourages everyone to sign up for BallotTrax, which provides notification of ballot status.