Mix up in Lennon ballots - ABC 12 – WJRT – Flint, MI

(11/06/12) - An election worker's mistake may have put the results of one Mid-Michigan election in doubt. The problem started when 30 to 50 voters were handed the wrong ballots.

The village of Lennon sits partially in Genesee County's Clayton Township. Voters who live in the village were supposed to get a slightly different ballot than others in the township. Only village residents were supposed vote in the race for Lennon treasurer - contested by Gayle Raymond and Larry Widigan.

But an election worker mistakenly handed out the Lennon ballots to some township voters, and others from Lennon found the treasurer's race wasn't listed on the ballots they got. The township clerk caught the mistake mid-morning Tuesday.

"They talked to the election people that were working here. It was supposed to have been fixed. I voted around noon and it was still not fixed. As a veteran I'm concerned about it. It's a problem in our election system. Something needs to be done," said Jerry Hamelink, a Lennon voter.

ABC12 News spoke with Clayton Township Clerk Dennis Milem, who took full responsibility for the mistake. Milem says if a voter used the wrong ballot and had it counted, there's no way to return and vote on a correct ballot. The Genesee County Board of Canvassers will have to view the results of the vote before deciding how to proceed.

'It's sad with today's technology that we're still fighting with getting wrong ballots. It's a joke," Hamelink said.