Some early voters in Richmond received an incorrect ballot

The Richmond Office of Elections issued an apology this weekend after discovering that some voters received an incorrect ballot on the first day of early voting Friday.

According to the office, the error impacted the House of Delegates races in Precincts 310 (Gilpin), 505 (VCU and Oregon Hill) and 607 (Downtown).

"We deeply apologize to all affected voters, community partners, and candidates for this error," General Registrar David Levine wrote in a statement. "Our goal is to conduct elections with integrity, transparency, and accuracy. We are committed to making this right and ensuring that every voter has the correct ballot and the opportunity to have their voice heard."

This is the first election since Levine was hired to the role. An interim registrar oversaw the primary elections after the resignation of Keith Balmer. The interim registrar lived in Chesterfield, and thus was not eligible for the permanent post.

Early voting in Virginia began on Friday, and is available weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 2134 W. Laburnum Ave. Additional sites and hours will come online closer to the election.

"For those who have already returned incorrect ballots by mail, we will set them aside in a secure location and send corrected ballots to them," the registrar's office wrote.

Update: Levine said five voters received incorrect ballots in person on Friday. There were a total of 278 incorrect ballots mailed, and those people will automatically receive a corrected one.

For early voting, voters in the impacted precincts can choose to cast a provisional ballot now, or wait until correct ballots are printed, which will likely happen early this week.

In Virginia, elections are overseen by boards that operate independently from the local government. Mayor Danny Avula acknowledged at a press conference last week that he has no authority over the process.

The Richmond Electoral Board of three members is appointed by judges using lists of nominees submitted by local political parties. At the moment, there are two Republicans and one Democrat serving on the board.

A balloting mistake also happened in last November's election at the Gilpin precinct.

Potential impact

Two House of Delegates races were potentially impacted by the current mistake.

Gilpin voters are choosing between incumbent Rae Cousins (D) and Kelsey Linnehan (R).

Downtown, VCU and Oregon Hill voters will choose between incumbent Betsy Carr (D) and Richard Prado (R).

Both races are projected to be safely won by the incumbent.

For voters who have additional questions, the office has set up an email address at voter@rva.gov to field those questions.

Contact Michael Phillips at mphillips@richmonder.org.