County identifies errors on GOP absentee ballot

WALLACE – The Shoshone County Elections Office has became aware of errors that appeared on the Legislative District 7 races on the Shoshone County Republican ballot.

In Legislative District 7, the Republican candidate Dennis Harper incorrectly appeared on the ballot for both Seat A and Seat B, though he had withdrawn from the Seat B race on March 13.

Shoshone County has identified the steps to be taken to rectify the error and will be re-issuing absentee Republican ballots, as well as any appropriate local ballots to those that were previously mailed out. These replacement ballots will be mailed out starting Friday, May 1.

A letter explaining the reason for the new ballot will be included with the replacement ballots, instructing voters to complete and return the new ballot to the Shoshone County Clerk by June 2, 2020.

Shoshone County began mailing ballots on Friday, April 3 and has mailed out 580 total Republican ballots to date. These will all be reissued and mailed to our voters. This includes mail-out precincts in Clarkia, Avery, Calder and Wardner.

“We regret the impact that this has on the candidates in these races and any confusion that this has caused for voters," Shoshone County Clerk Tamie Eberhard said. "We are acting quickly to remedy the mistake. In a primary election like this, we have 24 unique ballot types and we have been working diligently to shift our operations to accommodate the changes in this unique all mail election. We appreciate the community’s patience with the process."