Measure U Missing From Some Absentee Ballots

Ventura County election officials announced Thursday that a small number of absentee ballots that do not mention Measure U, a proposal to switch Ventura schools to a year-round schedule, were sent to prospective voters in Ventura.

Despite the glitch, officials said it is not likely to make a difference in the election or subject the election to a legal challenge.

“You would have to show it affected the outcome of the race,” said Bruce Bradley, Ventura County’s assistant registrar of voters. “We just hope the election is a landslide one way or another.”

With 1,891 ballots already returned, officials said 32 ballots--or less than 2%--had been incorrectly labeled by the company printing the ballots. With 6,800 absentee ballots already in the hands of voters, officials estimate that Measure U was omitted from about 116 ballots.

Bradley predicted that about 30,000 eligible voters will vote in the school district election.

The mistake was found by a couple who noticed that their individual ballots differed, Bradley said. One contained Measure U but the other did not.

Absentee voters who have not mailed back their ballots are asked to check card B to make sure it contains Measure U. If not, they should call the Elections Division at 654-2664 for a ballot replacement.