new york city

Queens, New York City, voters have received mail-in ballots marked for military use even though recipients never served in the armed forces, according to a Monday report. Per the New York Post: In recent days, several borough residents — including two Post journalists — have received forms reading “Official Absentee Military Ballot,” creating concern about whether their votes would be properly tallied. […] Beyond Sunnyside, non-service members also reported receiving the ballots in neighborhoods including Richmond Hill, Forest Hills and Astoria. Van Bramer, a Democrat, said the issue only adds to the worries in an already topsy-turvy election cycle that has seen an inordinate number of voters look to mail-in voting with the coronavirus pandemic raging on. […] Van Bramer said he was informed by the city BOE that the issue stemmed from a typographical error, wherein a dash meant to separate the words “absentee” and “military” was dropped. “There’s just mass confusion about these ballots and what people are supposed to do with them,” Van Bramer told the Post. “People were already not trusting this process and they were already not trusting the Board of Elections to count the ballot right.” “This apparent typo just has everyone confused and believing these are invalid ballots,”