45,000 Cuyahoga County mail-in ballots could cause some confusion; print shop error to blame

CLEVELAND - Some Cuyahoga County voters are concerned their ballots won't be counted, worried information they write on the mail-in ballot envelope may not be readable.

Joe Wolf of Middleburg Heights contacted 5 On Your Side Troubleshooter Joe Pagonakis, and explained the highlighted instructions in the information boxes on the ballot envelope were simply too dark.

Wolf is concerned his mail-in ballot will be rejected, because the information and signature he wrote on the envelope isn't legible.

"Will my vote be counted, that's what I asked, will my vote be counted," said Wolf. "The person at the Board of Elections said there was a printing error, the first batch from the print shop was too dark. Therefore, when you write your information on top of that, it's a non-readable field."

Wolf claims he was given unusual instructions when he called the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections with his concerns.

"Her only answer was, 'we became aware of it internally, and i think we can resolve it,'" explained Wolf. "She told me to write 'OK per Bart' on my ballot.  "That's the solution, OK per Bart?"

NewsChannel5 took Wolf's concerns to Cuyahoga County Board of Elections Director Jane Platten.

Platten confirmed overly dark printing effected 45,000 of the 175,000 mail-in ballot envelopes that were initially printed.

"We know that the printing is too dark, we tried to help the situation," said Platten "Unfortunately for this portion of the ballots that went out, it didn't work too well for us."

Platten assured voters that if they write over the overly dark instruction boxes, there will be no difficulty in figuring out the identity of the voter casting the ballot.

"If a person has that envelope, they need to write over that printing, we will know who they are" explained Platten. "If they feel uncomfortable about it, and they want a new envelope, they should call us, and we will send them a new envelope without the printing."

Platten also stressed voters need to follow all instructions carefully, and keep in mind the three page ballot will require at least 65 cents in postage.

Information and instructions on voting by mail can be found on the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections website .

Platten is hoping up to 50 percent of Cuyahoga County voters will vote by mail this year, and avoid long lines on election day.