Marketing company apologizes for ballot problems

COLFAX — Whitman County Auditor and Director of Election Sandy Jamison, requested a letter of apology and a dismissal of charges incurred for erroneous election ballots.

During this year’s General Election, it was discovered that errors were present on approximately 5,000 resident’s ballots, which required the Auditor’s Office to re-send ballots to the effected residents just a few days prior to Election Day.

A letter of apology was received by Jamison on Monday, Dec. 11, from PMA Direct Marketing, who printed the Whitman County General Election ballots.

The letter written by President of PMA Direct Marketing John DePasquale and states:

“I am writing on behalf of PMA Direct Marketing to express our sincere apology for the oversight in sorting the ballots for the November 7th General Election in Whitman County.

“We understand the gravity of this mistake and take full responsibility. We apologize for any inconvenience and confusion it may have caused for the Whitman County Elections and its constituents.

“We conducted a thorough internal investigation and learned that the issue was caused by an error in the quality control sheet used in the sorting process. We have already corrected our procedures to address this matter and implemented additional measures to prevent similar errors from occurring in the future.

“We understand the importance of accurate and timely election processes, and we are committed to upholding the integrity of our services. As a gesture of our commitment, PMA Direct Marketing will not invoice Whitman County Elections for any costs associated with the November 7th General Election.

“We hope you will accept our apology, knowing that steps have been taken to prevent similar errors in the future.

“We value our relationship with Whitman County Elections, and we look forward to continuing our partnership.”

In regards to the received letter, Jamison states that she is dedicated to the transparency of the election process and are currently looking for new potential vendors for upcoming elections.

Jamison mentioned that the elections office incurred overtime expenses due to the error, however with PMA Direct Marketing taking accountability and not billing the county for this year’s ballot service, Jamison was able to save taxpayers more money for the cost of the ballot service, than what was totaled from the extra staffing hours needed to correct the issues.