The Orange County Canvassing Board acknowledged Monday that a printing error resulted in 7,442 mail ballots being mailed with incorrect candidate ordering for the Aug. 18 primary, and agreed to reconvene Tuesday to begin remedial steps.
What went wrong
County elections staff say the problem affected roughly 1% of all ballots printed for the primary. In the mail ballots issued in mid-July, the county found that the names of candidates in the county mayor and clerk of courts races were transposed on the affected ballots — most notably placing Stephanie Murphy ahead of Tiffany Moore Russell in the mayoral contest.
Officials told the canvassing board that the vendor likely printed a draft version of the ballot rather than the final certified layout used for the vast majority of mail ballots. Because the order of names on the printed ballot does not match how the tabulation machines read the ballot, votes cast on those misprinted sheets would not be tabulated correctly if returned without correction.
County response and safeguards
The Supervisor of Elections Office said it discovered the error last Wednesday and notified candidates in the affected races. County staff reported they have accounted for every printed ballot involved and plan a public, transparent process to remedy ballots returned to the office.
“The fact is, our processes worked. We have accounted for 100% of the impacted ballots, and we will account for every impacted ballot returned to our office. Voters' choices will be counted as they intended. The secrecy of the ballots will be protected, and every step of this process will be open to the public,”
— Eddie Ayala, chief of staff for the supervisor’s office
County officials told the canvassing board they will physically copy or otherwise reissue correct ballot faces for any misprinted ballots returned so machines will tabulate voter intent accurately. The board scheduled a follow-up meeting Tuesday morning to begin implementing the corrective measures.
Concerns from candidates
At the canvassing board meeting, Rick Singh, a Democratic candidate for Orange County clerk of courts, raised concerns that the error could affect election results and requested a formal investigation. Singh submitted a six-page request to the canvassing board that included 63 questions about how the mistake occurred and how evidence would be preserved.
Singh attended Monday’s meeting to press those concerns publicly. County staff have said they informed all affected campaigns and that they believe the problem stemmed from the vendor producing and mailing draft copies rather than the approved ballot.
Numbers at a glance
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Misprinted mail ballots | 7,442 |
| Share of total primary ballots | ~1% |
- County staff say all affected ballots have been accounted for.
- The canvassing board will meet again to start corrective action.
- Candidates have been notified; at least one has formally requested investigation and evidence preservation.
Election officials emphasized that measures are in place to protect ballot secrecy and to confirm voter intent before any affected returned ballots are tabulated. The county’s next public meeting will provide details on the step-by-step process to correct and count any impacted mail ballots ahead of primary results being finalized.
Orange County residents with questions about their mail ballots or who received one of the affected ballots are advised to contact the Supervisor of Elections Office for instructions on how the county will handle returned misprinted ballots.
