A Limited Number of Ballots Identified for Additional Review
All Affected Ballots Have Been Accounted For and Will Be Counted According to Existing Election Procedures
Elections Office Will Commence A Public Hand Review of All Affected Ballots
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A production issue impacting approximately 1% of ballots printed for the August 18 Primary Election was discovered Wednesday afternoon by elections staff, the Supervisor of Elections office announced Friday. The affected ballots will undergo a public hand review next week before being tabulated through election equipment, ensuring they are counted transparently.
The Supervisor of Elections office will present the affected ballots to the Canvassing Board at its regularly scheduled public meeting on Monday, August 10, at 2:00 PM.
“Our processes worked as intended. While we are disappointed that this production error occurred, I want to assure the affected candidates and the public that every vote will be counted accurately, securely, and transparently,” Supervisor of Elections Karen Castor Dentel said.
QUICK FACTS
Of the approximately 550,000 ballots printed for the August 18 Primary Election, 7,442 mail ballots printed the names of County Mayor and Clerk of Courts candidates in an incorrect order. Those ballots have each of the correct candidates listed, but with the candidate order switched as outlined below for those two races.
The Supervisor of Elections office has accounted for 100% of the affected ballots, which will be tabulated in accordance with established election procedures.
To date, 2,522 affected ballots have been returned to the elections office.
| Order of candidates on 99% of printed ballots | Order of candidates on 1% of printed ballots | Order of candidates on 99% of printed ballots | Order of candidates on 1% of printed ballots |
| COUNTY MAYOR | COUNTY MAYOR | CLERK OF COURTS | CLERK OF COURTS |
| Chris Messina | Chris Messina | Maribel Gomez Cordero* | Maribel Gomez Cordero* |
| Tiffany Moore Russell | Stephanie Murphy | Rick Singh | Roberta Walton Johnson |
| Stephanie Murphy | Tiffany Moore Russell | Roberta Walton Johnson | Rick Singh |
| Mayra Uribe | Mayra Uribe |
*Please note: While Maribel Gomez Cordero has withdrawn from the race, her name will still appear on the ballot. A vote for Cordero will not count.
The Supervisor’s office notified the candidates for County Mayor and Clerk of Courts Friday afternoon. Every candidate and their campaign teams are invited to observe the public processing of the affected ballots. The elections office will ask the Canvassing Board to establish that timeline.
PRODUCTION ISSUE
The elections office relies on vendors to print and mail Vote-by-Mail ballots. During the production process, human error led to one vendor uploading an incorrect file, which resulted in the names of County Mayor and Clerk of Courts candidates being printed in an incorrect order on 7,442 ballots.
No other mail ballots were affected. Early Voting and Election Day ballots were not affected.
DISCOVERY
All mail ballots received by the elections office undergo an established process to ensure they are counted accurately, securely, and transparently. During the auditing process, elections staff, who are highly trained to identify anomalies, discovered an affected ballot and quickly took steps to determine the root cause of the issue.
These office protocols allow it to identify and account for 100% of the affected ballots.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Supervisor of Elections office will present its findings to the Canvassing Board on Monday, August 10, at its regularly scheduled 2:00 PM meeting. The elections office will ask the Canvassing Board to approve a timeline for the hand processing and tabulation of the affected ballots.
As with every election, those processes will be open to candidates, their campaigns, and the public and will be streamed live on the Supervisor of Elections website at voteorangefl.gov.
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About the Orange County Supervisor of Elections: The Orange County Supervisor of Elections Office works year-round to uphold fair and secure elections, strengthen public trust in the process and encourage active participation in democracy. Elected in 2024, Orange County Supervisor of Elections Karen Castor Dentel is dedicated to bringing democracy to life through increased access, enhanced voter education and efficient election administration. For more information, please visit voteorangefl.gov.