Some ballots received in Teaneck have incorrect Congressional Race information.
[Updated 10/9/2020 9:00am]
Click here to determine if you were affected
[Updated 10/7/2020 1:130pm]
2020 Election Error Announcement from Township Manager Dean Kazinci
Dear Teaneck Voter:
Due to a programming error by the mail house (outside vendor), some Teaneck Voters were inadvertently sent a ballot with incorrect candidates for the House of Representatives for the November 3, 2020 General Election. The County of Bergen sincerely apologizes for this machine error.
I have been in contact with John Hogan, Bergen County Clerk, regarding the incorrect ballots sent to 6,867 Teaneck Voters, and the steps being taken to correct this issue. Bergen County has identified which Teaneck Voters were impacted and they have already started the process of reprinting all supplies needed to re-send ballots to those voters as soon as possible.
We anticipate, by weeks end, that all affected voters will receive a brand new ballot with the corrected Congressional District. Please monitor your mailbox for your ballot which will be marked with the words “CORRECT BALLOT” on both the Outer Envelope and the Return Envelope. The ballots themselves have also been reprinted to say “Correct.” Please complete and return the correct ballot, even if you have already cast the previously issued ballot.
The Board of Elections has been made aware and already has procedures in place for replacing the old ballot with the correct ballot for the impacted voters who may have already cast their vote.
My office will be putting out a reverse (robo) telephone call only to the Teaneck voters who received an incorrect ballot.
I encourage everyone to use the secure voter ballot drop box located in front of the main entrance to the municipal building, 818 Teaneck Road. Please look for the large electronic display board in the parking lot which will direct you to the voter ballot box.
Teaneck has 28,000 voters and is split into two congressional districts, the 5th and 9th. For a copy of Teaneck’s election district map, please visit our website at www.teanecknj.gov. Click on the “Residents” tab, and “Teaneck Map” for this document. Please email clerk@teanecknj.gov or call 201-837-1600 extension 1025 for assistance.
Dean B. Kazinci
Township Manager
[Updated 10/6/2020 7:15pm]
The email below was just received by residents from the Bergen County Clerk:
Dear Teaneck Voter,
Thank you for your patience as we were conducting a full investigation into this issue.
Due to a computer programming malfunction, some Teaneck Voters were inadvertently sent a ballot with incorrect candidates for the House of Representatives for the November 3, 2020General Election. We sincerely apologize for this machine error.
Please be advised we were able to find out exactly which Teaneck voters were impacted and have already started the process of reprinting all the supplies needed to re-send ballots to those voters as soon as possible.
By the end of the week we will be mailing you a brand new set with the correct ballot for your Congressional District. Keep an eye on your mail box for your ballot which will be marked with the words “CORRECT BALLOT” on both the Outer Envelope and the Return Envelope. The ballots themselves have also been re-printed to say “Correct”. Please complete and return the correct ballot, even if you have cast the previously issued ballot.
The Board of Elections has been made aware and already has procedures in place for replacing the old ballot with the correct ballot for the impacted voters who may have already cast their vote.
We fully understand the impact of this error and are doing all we can to not only fix this, but also make sure it never happens again.
Best,
Bergen County Clerk’s Elections Division
One Bergen County Plaza Rm 130
Hackensack, NJ 07601
Phone: 201-336-7020
Fax: 201-336-7005
[Updated 10/6/2020 3:00pm]
If you received a ballot that contained the incorrect Congressional District and you returned it prior to the corrected replacement ballot arriving, you may return the corrected replacement ballot (the previous one will be voided).
If you do not return the corrected replacement ballot, your ballot will count for all offices except the Congressional race.
[Updated 10/6/2020 9:00am]
Yesterday, ballots for the general election started to arrive in mailboxes.
As you may know, Teaneck has 23 election districts and we are split between two congressional districts.
Teaneck Election District 9 is part of Congressional District 5 (currently served by Rep. Josh Gottheimer). Due to an error, residents in (local) District 9 appear to have received ballots for CONGRESSIONAL District 9, instead of their correct Congressional race candidates for Congress.
A similar error happened in reverse for residents in Districts 19 and 22.
Map of local election districts
Here is what we know:
The ballots are created, printed and mailed by the county clerk for Bergen County.
The clerk is aware of the problem, which they believe affects approximated 4,500 ballots in (local) district 9 and 1,500 ballots in (local) districts 19 & 22.The Bergen County clerk will be re-issuing ballots with a note of apology and explanation to those affected. They are working last night and this morning to confirm the extent of the error before sending out the printed corrections and robo-calls.
This may take a day or two to complete.
If you live in an affected district and already sent in your ballot, please return the corrected one when it arrives. The first ballot will be voided (there are systems in place to ensure only one ballot is counted).
Any and all questions should be sent to the Bergen County Clerk: electionsclerk@co.bergen.nj.us
You may sign up at the State Voter Registration System to see your previous voter history: https://voter.svrs.nj.gov/register
I have also requested, via Open Public Records Request, a list of all ballots that are returned from Teaneck residents and will post this information at: www.DidTheyVote.com
Keith Kaplan
Councilman
Township of Teaneck
kkaplan@teanecknj.gov
(201) 837-1600, Ext. 1028
[10/5/2020 7:00pm]
The Township Manager participated in two calls with County Clerk Hogan’s office on the evening of 10/5/20 regarding the issues reported with mail-in ballots.
As of 7pm on 10/5/20:
The latest information obtained indicates that ballot errors are isolated to approximately 4,500 voters in Congressional District NJ-5 (who received Congressional District NJ-9 information on their ballots), and approximately 1,500 voters in Congressional District NJ-9 (who received Congressional District NJ-5 information on their ballots).
The districts affected appear to be 9, 19, and 22 (map).
The Bergen County Clerk’s office is preparing a list identifying affected voters and those voters will receive a second ballot.
In addition, there will be an accompanying letter of apology and explanation explaining this was the result of a programming error.
The County Board of Elections will have the second ballot list of affected voters and will void any first ballots received, if already sent in.
Any questions pertaining to the ballot should be emailed to the County Clerk at electionsclerk@co.bergen.nj.us.
As additional information is received, this post will be updated.