25-30% ballot rejection rate from blurry barcodes
Election night is off to a rocky start in San Joaquin County. The tabulation machines at the Registrar of Voters office are experiencing a 25-30% rejection rate due to a blurry barcode issue with vote-by-mail ballots.
The Registrar of Voters will handle the rejected blurry barcode ballots in the same way they would handle a damaged ballot. California Elections code allows the Registrar of Voters to duplicate the problematic ballots to count the casted votes.
Elections Code 15210 reads:
“In preparing the voted ballots for processing, any ballot that is torn, bent, or otherwise defective shall be corrected so that every vote cast by the voter shall be counted by the automatic tabulating equipment. If necessary, a true duplicate copy of the defective ballot shall be made and substituted therefor, following the intention of the voter insofar as it can be ascertained from the defective ballot. All duplicate ballots shall be clearly labeled “duplicate,” and shall bear a serial number that shall be recorded on the damaged or defective ballot.”
https://www.recordnet.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/06/07/june-7-primary-election-live-updates-stockton-san-joaquin-county-california-races-ballot-results/7505939001/