ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – If you received a sample ballot in the mail from the Orange County Supervisor of Elections, it is critical to carefully check it. Ballots were sent to about 89,000 voters ahead of the House District 40 Special General Election scheduled for next month, but a significant error has been identified.
District 40 is located in Northwest Orange County, beginning on the west side of I-4 at College Park and encompassing communities such as Rosemount, Lockhart, Mercy Drive, the Fairgrounds, Pine Hills, and Ocoee.
RaShon Young, the Democratic nominee for the House District 40 special election, spoke out about the issue.
“Because of this, we are going to work harder,” Young told News 6.
However, nearly 89,000 voters who received a sample ballot this past weekend will not see Young’s name printed. Instead, the ballot erroneously features the name of Travaris McCurdy, the candidate Young defeated in the June 24th Democratic Special Election Primary.
This shocking mistake originates from the Orange County Supervisor of Elections office, led by Karen Castor Dentel.
Young shared with News 6, “I found out because I looked in the mailbox, pulled out my sample ballot and saw the error. But the team reached out to the supervisor’s office, and she called me within the hour, assuring me that they were going to make it right.”
Requests for an interview with Supervisor Karen Castor Dentel were met with a response that she was focused on correcting the error. Her spokesperson, Blake Summerlin, explained, “We’ve been more than happy to explain it’s a printing error; it did happen here in-house, it was not our vendors’ fault. It was an error here on our end, we’ve traced the origin, and we are working to rectify it.”
Regarding the financial impact of the correction, Summerlin estimated, “I would estimate maybe in the $25,000 range to rectify this with postage and everything included.”
RaShon Young has served as Chief of Staff to State Rep. LaVon Bracy Davis for the past three years and is now running to succeed her. Davis herself is also a candidate on this special election ballot for Senate District 15.
On why this special election is taking place, LaVon Bracy Davis stated, “I ran for Senate District 15. I was successful in my primary, and candidate Rayshon Young ran for my seat. That was part of my succession plan and his succession plan when that time became available. We are in a special election because of the untimely death of Senator Geraldine Thompson.”
Voters affected by the printing error should expect to receive a corrected sample ballot prior to the start of early voting on August 23. Election Day is set for September 2.
Voters are urged to review their ballots carefully and stay informed about the upcoming special election to ensure their votes are properly cast and counted.