AZTEC, N.M. (KRQE) – In an apparent accident, some San Juan County absentee ballots were mailed out without a proper return address. Tanya Shelby, the San Juan County Clerk, says they’re working to fix the issue.
A message sent from Shelby Thursday explains that the return envelope for absentee ballots was not printed with the address for the San Juan County Clerk’s Office. The Clerk’s message also notes that in past elections, the vendor who supplied the envelopes handled that printing.
Shelby says that once the Clerk’s Office noticed the problem, they started to address the issue before more ballots were mailed out. But one group of ballots was sent out before the missing return address was noted.
KRQE News 13 called the San Juan County Clerk to learn how many ballots might have been sent out without return addresses. Devin Neeley, a spokesperson for the Clerk’s Office, says a little more than 1,900 ballots went out without return addresses. But they say they’ve already received more than 700 of those back. And they’re working to contact the remainder of absentee voters.
If you have an absentee ballot form the San Juan County Clerk, it should be mailed back to: PO Box 550, Aztec NM 87410. Absentee ballots can also be turned in by hand at the Clerk’s Office (100 S. Oliver Dr. in Aztec).
County Clerk Shelby notes that the office has been calling, emailing, and mailing absentee voters to make sure they know how to send in their completed ballots. Shelby notes that local post offices have also been made aware of the issue and have been instructed to forward ballots with no address to make sure they get to the Clerk’s Office.
The San Juan County Clerk’s Office says they’ve already received about 25% of the ballots back. And concerned voters can call the San Juan County Clerk’s Office to confirm that their ballot has been received at (505)-334-9471.
