Dozens of Tippecanoe primary ballots marked too late; staff shortage blamed at post office

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(Photo: Dave Bangert)

As many as two dozen ballots mailed by voters for the May 3 primary in Tippecanoe County weren’t counted because they were considered too late after sitting in a U.S. Postal Service sorting facility, an issue the county clerk said she was told was due to a staffing shortage.

“We have a problem here,” Tippecanoe County Clerk Julie Roush said Friday, after the county’s election board met to certify results.

“Those are ballots that should have been in our (post office) box,” Roush said. “And they just weren’t. … It’s not just irritating, it’s unacceptable. People’s votes didn’t get counted.”