Gig Harbor woman’s ballot returned after rare postmark mistake

Ann Callin of Gig Harbor dropped her ballot and her husband’s into the mail Thursday.

She got hers back Monday with a postmark on the back of the envelope, where her voter registration address was printed.

U.S. Postal Service workers told the 75-year-old her ballot must have been flipped over and processed that way, she said, with the voter registration address being confused for the mailing address.

“I took it back down to the post office, and they corrected mine and sent it through,” Callin said.

She was concerned about what would happen to her ballot and whether it was possibly voter suppression.

Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson said Callin’s ballot is the only one this year to have been reported with the postmark on the wrong side.

“We have already received 250,000 ballots, and this is the only instance this has happened,” Anderson said. “We actually know her by name.”

The mistake happens rarely, Anderson said: “Once, twice, maybe three times in an election.”

Even had Callin’s ballot not been put back into the mail, Anderson said, the Auditor’s Office would accept it if it were still sealed and postmarked.

“We absolutely would count her ballot and count it as received on time,” Anderson said. “All we have to do is get it before certification,” which is Nov. 29.

This story was originally published November 7, 2016 at 6:44 PM with the headline "Gig Harbor woman’s ballot returned after rare postmark mistake."