A Pennsylvania judge on Friday ordered Erie County’s Board of Elections to correct and reissue new ballots to more than 17,000 voters after their original ballots were lost.

Democratic Party of Pennsylvania lawsuit filed After it was found Wednesday that only 52% of ballots in Erie County were returned on Monday, the competitive swing county said that was significantly below the national average and one of the lowest rates in the state. According to Politico.

Common Pleas Judge David Ridge ordered the election board to resolve the problem after the vendor admitted it could not verify the status of between 13,000 and 17,000 absentee ballots and said 1,200 out-of-state voters had so far failed to receive their absentee ballots. .

Another 365 voters were given duplicate ballots with barcodes matching other voters. Reuters reported.

Ridge outlined a solution that included keeping the elections office at the county courthouse open longer hours, holding ballots for out-of-state voters overnight and providing voters with new ballots if ballots are missing.

Voters who have not yet received their ballots in the state will be able to track the status of their ballots. online here.

More than 25,000 voters have cast ballots so far in Erie County, which has 177,000 registered voters. More than a million people have voted in the state so far.

Misty Severi is the evening news reporter for Just The News. you can follow him on x for greater coverage.