Erroneous election reminders sent to thousands of California voters

Thousands of California residents received an automated reminder on Tuesday that election day is next week — except for most voters, it isn’t.

The erroneous messages sent by email to Los Angeles County and Orange County voters arrived with a subject line that read “One Week Left to Return Your Ballot,” and told voters that “is the last day for your ballot to be mailed and postmarked,” omitting the day. Reminders sent by text message said: “Drop your ballot at a nearby drop box or voting location by 8 pm on.”

Elections officials said the incomplete messages originated with BallotTrax, the software that sends automated messages to voters about the status of their mail ballots. The Denver-based company has worked with the California Secretary of State since 2020.

Steve Olsen, the president of BallotTrax, said that the automated reminders should have gone out to about 100,000 voters in two legislative districts that include parts of Los Angeles, Orange, Kern and Tulare counties. Special primary elections are being held in those districts next week.

“Due to a geo-targeting error, the reminder went out to many other voters,” Olsen said in an email. He said the company is still investigating and will send a retraction as soon as they determine which voters received the messages in error.

The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder’s office said that “nearly all” voters in L.A. County who subscribe to BallotTrax updates received the erroneous messages.

“We apologize for any confusion this has caused,” said a representative for California Secretary of State Shirley Weber.

Voters in the San Gabriel Valley, Santa Monica and San Fernando Valley reported receiving messages intended for voters in state Senate District 36, which spans coastal Orange County, Little Saigon and portions of southern L.A. County.

That district has a primary election Feb. 25 to replace former state Sen. Janet Nguyen, who resigned in November after winning a seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors.

In the Central Valley, voters in Tulare and Kern counties will cast ballots next week to fill the state Assembly vacancy left by Bakersfield Republican Vince Fong, who was elected last year to the U.S. House of Representatives.