LEHIGH CO., Pa – At the Lehigh County Election office workers are getting ready for the May 19th primary election.<\/p>\n
One of their many duties now includes sending out letters to 115 voters, like Austin Reed.<\/p>\n
Reed got his mail-in ballot this week and noticed something strange.<\/p>\n
“I was looking at the actual ballot, and the names didn’t seem to be affiliated with the party that I was at. I took a closer look at it and realized that they sent me the wrong party ballot,” said Reed.<\/p>\n
Reed is a Republican, but he was sent a Democratic mail-in ballot.<\/p>\n
Turns out. He’s not alone.<\/p>\n
“It was a simple clerical human error. We pulled from the 2025 primary role instead of the 2026,” said Lehigh County Executive Josh Siegel.<\/p>\n
Siegel says the people impacted were mostly those who changed their party affiliation.<\/p>\n
Siegel says the county caught the error and is making sure all 115 of the voters impacted get the right ballots before the election.<\/p>\n
Reed says he will be stopping by the office to get a new ballot but says this is just the kind of thing that undermines people’s faith in the mail-in ballot system.<\/p>\n
But Siegel says the county is doing everything it can to ensure the election is fair and accurate.<\/p>\n
“I would just reassure people that this was not an act of malfeasance or maliciousness the election is free, fair, and secure,” said Siegel.<\/p>\n
If you were one of the 115 voters impacted, you will be receiving a letter instructing you to reapply for a mail-in ballot or to call or come into the office.<\/p>\n
County officials say there’s still plenty of time to get a ballot and mail it back.<\/p>\n
And if one of the wrong ballots does end up being mailed, Siegel says the system will recognize it’s a mistake and will not count it.<\/p>\n