Mercer County Board of Elections will send revised list
By: Scott Morgan
WASHINGTON The Mercer County Board of Elections last week sent erroneous information regarding polling places for the upcoming Washington Township Council election, according to the chairman of the elections board.
Chairman Dominic Magnolo on Monday accepted full responsibility on behalf of the MCBOE for providing incorrect polling locations for voters in districts 2,3,4,5,6 and 7.
According to Mr. Magnolo, voters in these districts were sent information that listed polling locations for West Windsor. Voters in these districts in Washington should disregard letters initially sent on April 27 and instead look for corrected letters that should arrive midweek, Mr. Magnolo said.
The corrected letters will have "Emergency Notice" printed at the top and will include the correct polling location.
"The letters were sent as the result of a recent redistricting in Washington Township which increased the number of election districts from seven to nine. Voters in the new districts 8 and 9 received their correct letters prior to the school board election and the letters that went out this week for District 1 were correct," said Mr. Magnolo.
Washington and West Windsor townships will both hold their municipal elections on Tuesday, May 8.
"Somehow a mix-up occurred with the information concerning the polling locations and the board will look into the matter at its next meeting. In the interim, the board apologizes for any confusion this may have caused. This mistake had nothing to do with the Washington Township government, it is clearly the fault of the Board of Elections," he said.
Washington Township Clerk Michelle Auletta on Monday echoed the sentiment, saying, "The Township of Washington and the municipal clerk’s office had nothing to do with the mailing and were not aware of the contents of such letters until after we received phone calls from the public who received the erroneous letters. I am very sorry that voters have had to encounter this type of confusion (and) I encourage every registered voter to come out and vote on May 8th."
Correct polling locations are posted on the township Web site, www.washington-twp.org. The site also has a street listing of the election districts with polling locations that voters can access by selecting "Government," then selecting "Municipal Clerk" and choosing "Election Information." The sample ballots will also list the election district and polling location.

