If you plan to vote in Tuesday, August 3 primary election, remember to only vote straight Republican or Democratic tickets, otherwise your vote won’t count.
Addison Township Clerk Pauline Bennett wants to make sure voters remember to not split the partisan section of their ballots.
If a primary voter does happen to select candidates from both parties, Bennett said the machine which scans and tabulates the votes will not accept the ballot.
‘It will spit it out,? the clerk said. The unacceptable ballot is then returned to the voter.
The precinct election inspector reads a print-out produced by the tabulator indicating the nature of the voting error and informs the voter. It’s against the law for the inspector to actually look at the person’s ballot, Bennett said.
The inspector then reads the following statement to the voter, ‘The tabulator has rejected your ballot because it is improperly marked. According to the tabulator, you have voted in more than a single party primary.
‘If you wish to correct the voting error, we will be happy to supply you with a replacement ballot. If you do not wish to correct the voting error, we will be happy to accept your ballot as presented. Please be aware, however, that any invalid votes marked on your ballot will not be counted.?
If the voter chooses the second option, to leave the ballot as is, Bennett said the entire partisan section of the ballot will be voided and only the non-partisan section (judicial candidates, ballot proposals, etc.) will be counted.
Bennett said most of the time when a voter makes a mistake, they usually choose to receive a new ballot and vote again.