A major “mistake” in Faribault County, Minnesota, has caused confusion after ballots were issued labeling Republican state Rep. Peggy Bennett as a Democrat. Meanwhile, her opponent, Democrat Joe Staloch, was incorrectly listed as the Republican candidate. The error was discovered after early voting started, affecting 17 voters.
Bennett learned of the problem when a Republican voter, confused by the ballot, contacted her after casting a vote for Staloch under the false impression that he was the Republican candidate. Bennett quickly issued a statement to reassure her supporters that she remains a committed Republican and expressed disappointment that the Secretary of State’s office had not caught the error earlier.
The Secretary of State’s office responded by saying they provide accurate information about candidates, but the counties are responsible for preparing and printing ballots. Faribault County is now pursuing corrective measures through the courts to ensure that voters who received the inaccurate ballots have their votes counted correctly.
Bennett highlighted the importance of election integrity, emphasizing that distributing inaccurate ballots undermines the trust in the state’s voting system. Despite the error, she praised local election officials for their efforts to resolve the issue promptly.
This incident comes amid heightened concerns over election transparency and integrity, particularly following the automatic voter registration controversy in Minnesota that added non-citizens to the rolls.
