Library election not on all ballots
Emergency paper ballots in Library race to be issued beginning April 26
By Tim Fleischer
Editor-in-Chief
Local election officials learned within minutes of early voting polls opening at 7 a.m. today that there was an issue with the Salado Public Library District election, which has resulted in several registered voters in the Library District not being able to cast a ballot in that race at all.
In fact, it was the second voter of the day, Michael Novotny, at the Salado polling location to bring it to the attention of the election workers that the Library District race did not appear on the voting machine when he voted.
Dr. Novotny told Salado Village Voice that he realized that the Library District race was not on his ballot after he voted. He said an election worker told him that because he did not live within the Village of Salado, he could not vote in the Library District election.
The Salado Public Library District and the Salado Independent School District have the same boundaries.
Bell County Interim Elections Administrator Shay Luedeke told Dr. Novotny that the incorrect boundaries for the Library District were logged into the voting machines because the Bell Co. Office of Elections Administration was informed in an email from someone associated with the Library District that the Library District boundaries were the Village boundaries.
Rick Marruffo, who lives in the school and library districts, confirmed with Salado Village Voice that he was told by a local election official at the Salado polling location that Shay Luedeke said that in an email from the Library Board it was stated that only those who live in the Village of Salado could vote in the Library race.
Salado Village Voice called the Elections Administration office early this afternoon for confirmation of what steps were being taken but our call was not returned by Luedeke.
We did speak on the record with James Stafford, Public Information Officer with the County.
Salado Village Voice also put in an opens record request for all correspondence between the Elections Administration and the Library District. We are waiting for those documents from the County.
We did receive a response to our records request from Salado Library Director Jeanie Lively. An email of the “ballot proof” sent on April 6 from Jeannette A. Compean, Elections Chief Deputy to Lively shows the two proposed Constitutional Amendments, the Village of Salado Mayoral election, the Village of Salado Aldermen election (uncontested), Salado ISD election for two full three-year terms, the SISD election for one unexpired two-year term. That ballot proof was also emailed to Cara McPartland with the Village of Salado.
The ballot proof sent by Compean to Susan Jackson at Salado ISD shows the two proposed Constitutional Amendments and the two Salado ISD Elections. It does not show the Salado Library District election.
The “proofs of ballots” emails were confirmed by Stafford with the Bell County PIO.
“Proofs of ballots were mailed to the Village of Salado, Salado Independent School District, and the Salado Public Library District on April 6. Both the library and school district made slight edits to the proofs, but no mention was made of the race not appearing on the Salado ISD ballot,” according to a statement from Bell County PIO Stafford at 11 p.m.
According to that statement, “Elections Department staff contacted the Texas Secretary of State’s Office by 8:00 a.m. to consult on how best to proceed.”
In the meantime, 148 ballots were cast at the Salado polling location on the first day of early voting. In all of Bell County, 1,244 ballots were cast on the first day of early voting.
“Our desire was to create a provisional ballot for voters who voted today but were unable to vote on the race,” Interim Elections Administrator Shay Luedeke stated in the release. “However, the Secretary of State told us that was not an option, and that no one would be allowed to vote a second time.”
Early voters at the Salado voting location received mixed information when they went to vote today.
Gayla Ray, who lives in the School and Library District, voted at about 9 a.m. She told Salado Village Voice that she was not informed of any issues with the ballot. “It wasn’t until I got home that I realized the Library Board was not on the ballot,” she said.
Marruffo told Salado Village Voice that he was “told that the library was not showing up outside the Village and that they were trying to figure out what the correction would be.”
Marruffo said he was told at the time, about 8:15 a.m., “that it was not going to be fixed in time for this election anyway. So I went ahead and voted.”
Amber Preston Dankert told Salado Village Voice that she was not informed of there being an issue with the Library race when she voted at about 8:30 a.m.
The lack of information and mixed information being told to voters who were disenfranchised by the ballot error and to candidates in the Library race continued until later in the afternoon.
Theresa Howard, a candidate in the race for Library board, told Salado Village Voice that she received a call from Lively at 8:37 a.m. informing her of the issues with the ballot.
She said that she was informed about 12:55 p.m. by Lively that the election had been canceled. Howard received a call from Lively at 5:58 p.m. that the election was not being canceled. Salado Village Voice has not confirmed these conversation with Lively.
Stafford told Salado Village Voice that the Elections Department did not make any statements canceling the election. “The only entity able to do that would be the Library Board of Trustees,” he said.
To address the issue moving forward, the Elections Department is creating an emergency paper ballot, which will be used by all Salado ISD voters outside of the village. These ballots will be utilized for all remaining days of early voting and on Election Day. They will be hand counted by the Ballot Review Board.