Wyatt Patrick Padgett, the challenger in the Yucaipa District 1 election scheduled for the November 6 election, was erroneously credited with being an incumbent by the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters. As a result both Padgett and the actual council incumbent, David Avila, are listed as current office holders on the ballot as well as the sample ballot pamphlet that has been sent to registered voters in the 54,000-population city.
The error was made on the city’s end when a template sent from the city clerk’s office to the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters Office apparently substituted Avila’s identifier, “City of Yucaipa, Member, City Council,” for Padgett’s, which should have been “Businessman.” The mistake was not recognized as such at the registrar’s office, which more than three weeks ago ordered up the printing of the election ballots and the sample ballots countywide. It was only after the sample ballots were mailed and examined by some Yucaipa residents, including some who knew Padgett is not currently on the council, that the mistake was publicly noted.
With the election just 11 days away,
it is too late, not to mention too cost prohibitive, to recall the ballots and have them reprinted.
In an effort to clear up or minimize the confusion, Yucaipa City Clerk Jennifer Crawford and other city officials have undertaken to put out information about the error, posting it on its website, Yucaipa.org, on social media, at City Hall and the library, as well as in mailings directly to District 1 voters.
The posting on the city’s website states, “Revised error in City of Yucaipa Electoral District 1 election ballot. Ballot Incorrectly Notes Candidate Ballot Designation. The City of Yucaipa General Services/City Clerk Department announces there is an error in the City of Yucaipa Electoral District 1 Election sample ballot pamphlet and the official ballot regarding the ballot designation of a candidate. Incorrect information was transmitted to the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters indicating Mr. Wyatt Patrick Padgett’s ballot designation. As a result, the ballot designation that appears below Mr. Wyatt Patrick Padgett’s name on the official ballot and in the sample ballot pamphlet is incorrect.”
The post then shows the erroneous ballot and the corrected ballot side-by-side, with Avila designated “City of Yucaipa, Member, City Council” and Padgett shown as “Businessman” on the correct mock-up.
The posting notes that “new ballots will not be printed.”
Crawford has given indication her office will institute a redundancy of inspection of the ballot information to be submitted to the Registrar of Voters Office in the future.