Irvine Finds Error on Mailed Ballot

Irvine officials said Monday that they have discovered an error on printed ballot instructions for the Nov. 2 City Council election that were mailed to registered voters in the city.

The instructions tell voters to select two candidates for the citywide council election, when three is the correct number, said City Clerk Jeri L. Stately.

Two council seats are being vacated by Chris Mears and Mike Ward, who because of term limits cannot run again. But council member Beth Krom, whose term ends in 2006, is running for mayor, a separate office.

Should she be elected, there would be a third vacant council seat, which would go to the third-highest vote-getter.

Seven candidates are running for council or mayoral seats. Four, including Ward, are running for mayor.

Stately said the error was found in the absentee and sample ballots mailed to voters. She could not say how many were distributed, but said there were 84,000 registered voters in Irvine.

Electronic ballots on election day should display the correct information, Stately said. But city officials are concerned because early voting starts today, and voters could cast absentee ballots using wrong instructions.

A special City Council meeting has been scheduled for today to discuss the matter.

“We are doing everything we can to ensure a solution that is appropriate,” Stately said.