FAIRFAX, Va. — The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Jeffrey McKay has requested a full investigation into what led to the mailing of around 60,000 state issued notices with the wrong voting locations across Virginia.
The Virginia Election Department says that 31,000 notices were sent out to registered voters living in towns in Fairfax and Prince William Counties.
The towns effected in the two counties are Clifton, Dumfries, Haymarket, Herndon, Occoquan, Quantico, and Vienna.
"I think an investigation should go into, how did these documents get prepared? Who authorized them to go out? And why?," said McKay to WUSA9.
The Chair sent a letter this week to Virginia state delegates representing Fairfax County after the Office of Elections saw an increase in calls following the error.
"Some are amused, some are confused, some are frustrated," said Fairfax County's General Registrar Eric Spicer to WUSA9 during a Friday Oct. 21 interview.
The Fairfax and Prince William County election offices have both mailed new notices with the correct voting locations following the state's mistake.
The Commissioner of Elections, Susan Beals, called the error a "print issue," but McKay says corrective measures need to be taken in what he called the biggest breach of election integrity that he has ever seen in Fairfax County. He has requested Attorney General Jason Miyares to use his newly announced Election Integrity Unit to delve into the matter.
"He has some responsibility for that state agency, but with this Election Integrity Unit. I think it is an appropriate thing that his agency investigates. I hope that he does," said Mckay who told WUSA9 that he has not heard from Miyares' office yet.
A spokesperson for Miyares said the Attorney General is "frustrated with the vendor who made the mistake." In a statement to WUSA9, Miyares' spokesperson, Victoria LaCivita said, "This type of error is unacceptable, and our office is working with the Department of Elections in exploring all legal remedies against the vendor and ensuring that voters receive the correct information.”
We reached out to the Richmond-based company in charge of printing the notices, Choice Printing Services, for comment, but did not receive a response.
In a brief interview, the co-owner of the company, Lainee Bilnuanas reportedly told the Virginia Mercury, "It wasn't like a conscious error where somebody manipulated information."
A clear timeline for the investigation has not been given. With less than two weeks left for the midterm elections, both state and county officials say that their top priority is making sure voters have accurate information about their polling location.
Any voter can check their voting information on the Department’s website at www.elections.virginia.gov or by calling 804-864-8901 and dialing 0 for the operator.