After Mendocino County Election Errors, California Revokes Certification of Ballot Printer
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The ballot printing service that botched the ballots for the primary election in Mendocino County has lost its certification as a ballot printer in the State of California, according to a letter from the Secretary of State dated May 17th. The company contends that it did not violate state code, and has indicated that it’s preparing to litigate.
Katrina Bartolomie, the Assessor Clerk Recorder Registrar of Voters, reported to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday. She added that, “We have been in talks with a couple other California certified ballot printers…We are working on that, and have been working on that.”
Integrated Voting Systems, the vendor Bartolomie has been working with for fifteen years, sent over 52,000 incorrectly printed ballots for the March primary election to Mendocino County voters in February. Integrated sent out replacement ballots at no extra cost to the county. But then 177 voters received ballots for the wrong district, because the voter rolls had not been fully updated following the 2020 census. Those voters received another round of replacement ballots, meaning some people, like George McCord in Redwood Valley, got a total of three ballots. And some, like Dolly Brown in Redwood Valley, who is not a Republican, only ever got the first ballot. “I certainly didn’t get a replacement ballot,” she told us the day before Super Tuesday. “Yeah. It’s a mess.”
In the end, 45.5% of the eligible voters in Mendocino County cast a ballot. It was not a smooth process.
On February 5, Integrated Voting Systems, the contractor the county uses for its all mail-in elections, sent Republican ballots for the first supervisorial district to every registered voter in the county.
According to Weber’s letter and a county press release, Integrated hired a third-party vendor to add tint and watermark images to the ballot layout. That individual uploaded a test file image of the first district GOP ballot, which Integrated then printed and sent out, instead of the correct live ballot images. The State Department’s letter says that “Integrated Voting Solutions’ internal quality control check did not catch the issue because the header fields, watermark and barcodes on all of the ballots were displaying correctly.” The letter is addressed to Integrated Voting Systems, Inc, doing business as Integrated Voting Solutions.
The name change followed a business shake-up at the company, which has botched elections in other parts of the western United States.
In 2018, after Integrated sent the wrong ballots to voters in Montrose County, Colorado, forcing a manual recount, The Daily Sentinel in Grand Junction, Colorado investigated the company. The paper found that at that time, Integrated Voting Systems shared employees, addresses and clientele with another company called Integrated Voting Solutions, which had declared bankruptcy. According to the Sentinel, the owners, Eric and Ronda Kozlowski, had over $15 million in debt, including taxes and lawsuit settlements. The paper found that the couple’s teenaged daughter founded Integrated Voting Systems, which does business in several states.
In 2020, according to The Salt Lake Tribune, Integrated Voting Systems sent out 13,000 ballots with missing signature lines to voters in Sanpete County, Utah. That article also reported a similar error in a municipal election in Sevier County. Last year, the Pikes Peak Courier reported that Integrated Voting Systems sent out 14,812 incorrect ballots to voters in Teller County, Colorado.
And last year, a representative from another ballot printing service alerted Bartolomie that California’s Fresno County had broken its contract with Integrated, due to the company’s “spotty record” in other states. Bartolomie sent an article about the decision to her contact at Integrated, who does not appear to have responded via email.
Now, Shirley Weber, the California Secretary of State, has fined Integrated a thousand dollars and revoked its status as a certified ballot printer, saying the company committed two violations. Weber wrote that Integrated violated the state elections code by failing to notify her office about the ballot printing error within two business days. Instead, Bartolomie contacted the state, which then requested an account from Integrated about what had happened. Amanda Wolter, the Mendocino County Assistant Clerk Recorder Registrar of Voters, sent an email to an Integrated representative at 4:38 in the afternoon of February 7, alerting her that voters were reporting they had gotten the wrong ballots. The county notified the Secretary of State the next day, and Rodney Rodriguez, from the Secretary of State’s office, contacted Integrated the same day.
Integrated had more than one glitch with a sub-contractor, according to Weber’s letter. Because of a late delivery from the vendor responsible for providing the envelopes, Integrated sent out replacement ballots on Tuesday, February 13, four days later than was originally planned.
Weber wrote that Integrated also violated the California Code of Regulations by failing to notify her office about its use of the third-party vendor to apply the ballot tints and watermarks on the ballots. She wrote that “this third-party vendor was not certified by the Secretary of State to perform any part of the ballot printing process for California ballots.”
Integrated disagrees with the Secretary of State’s action, and appears prepared to fight it.
Eric Kozlowski, the CEO of Integrated, shared a letter the company’s legal counsel sent to Weber, a response which is, “Pending the involvement of litigation counsel for IVS to formally object to such revocation.” The attorney, Robyn Esraelian, asserted that, “IVS provided a written response to the Secretary of State on Friday, February 9, 2024. This response was submitted within 48 hours of the time IVS became aware of the issue and constituted the required written notification to the Secretary of State under California Elections Code…I submit that the conduct of IVS in this matter does not violate the California Elections Code.” The letter also objects to the use of the term “third party vendor,” saying the individual in charge of the watermarks and ballot tints is a contracted IVS employee named Justin Elder, who works under IVS’ certification.
-Having argued that there is no violation, Esraelian concluded by “request(ing) that the California Secretary of State retract its May 17, 2024 revocation of IVS’ status as a certified ballot printer for California.”
Earlier:
- Massive Ballot Mix-Up in Mendocino County Ahead of March Elections Being Investigated by State
- Reporter Sarah Reith’s Op-Ed on Botched Ballots and the Battle for Democracy
- For the Second Time This Month, Some Voters in Mendocino County Received Ballots With the Wrong Information
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Election fraud at its finest.
And it’s only the beginning…
I don’t think that this is fraud, but gross incompetence, which is becoming endemic.
There is still plenty of room for dirty politics. Some folks care more about winning than fairness. All’s fair in love and war, and ‘politics’ has been added to that recently. Nobody really thinks through anything lately. I don’t think that people see the consequences of their strict party affiliation. To many politicians are dying in office, simply because the have the right big letter behind their name.
“To (sic) many politicians are dying in office, simply because the (sic) have the right big letter behind their name.”
That’s a pretty wild claim. Where’s your evidence?
You are kidding, right?
Hmmmm lets see…….
My comment was not meant to be political or offend anyone. Naming names of politicians that have died in office would only tend to be political in nature. I have too many true friends on all sides of the political persuasion.
Our challenge should be, to be good friends and good people. Anybody that totally agrees with me would have to be out of their minds. I’ll settle for good friends that tolerate small differences of opinions.
If you meant the obvious fiasco of the current pending Presidential election, I couldn’t agree more. Political parties are so fearful of losing, what is good for the country is not even an issue as they field people who obviously are bad just because they seem the most likely to win. Considering the extent to which they now take revenge on each other at each change of power, they have a right to be afraid. How did the country become so petty and vindictive? Is it because the public no longer feels ashamed in being petty and vindictive?
One of the pleasures of the dog watch underway was debating politics and mocking celebrities, second only to admiring the night sky and bioluminescence. Remember Daryl Strawberry and his troubles? It was interesting and often surprising to hear the why when it came to politics, since we all came from very different places in the US. Nowadays it seems to be about the who, and constant blaming, rather than trying to understand the underlying issues.
“All’s fair in love and war, and ‘politics’ has been added to that recently.”
Recently??? Politics INVENTED it. Going back at least as far as Et tu, Brute
Another reason why we desperately need term limits.
Which part of this is fraud?
In Mendo, it’s who you know, not who is competent…
Worse in Lake, with their rampant nepotism, thieving administrators and incompetent hiring…
When the person hired as a bottom of the range clerk hangs around for 20 years and then is made HR Director, you know you have a problem…
It is not what you know, and it is not who you know. It is what you know ABOUT who you know.
Not so much election fraud as corporate fraud. With government connivance. And an object lesson on how government functions (or doesn’t) when the many layers of government regulation becomes too complex to work and allows so much shifting of responsibility that in the end no one holds themselves responsible.
This corporation seemingly got into trouble then re-incorporated with a slightly different name. “The letter is addressed to Integrated Voting Systems, Inc, doing business as Integrated Voting Solutions.” As the article says, these two “entities” are actually the same. And they (or it depending on which fiction subscribed to) hired a third party. The tangled web of corporations, subcontracting, different government offices and the pursuit of the cheaper government contracts allows no one person or agency to be held accountable.
Basically though government has become so burdened by its own regulations that it can’t function. So, in this case, the voter rolls, which should be private government information, are farmed out to commercial interests and are subject to ineffective security of shady business practices. At government’s demand. They only happy people in such cases are the lawyers fighting it out.
Yes, classic government contract fraud for sure
Gross incompetence. Not a lack of morality but a lack of taking responsibility and being intelligent.
Whose incompetence though? Government which has become so riddled with regulation that its hard to function? Or government that allows a corporation that has trouble to just rename itself and plod on? Government, so easy to sue, so layered with regulation, and so interested in farming out responsibility, has become a burden to the public.
Incompetence for the printing company to not properly proofread their own material before printing up thousands and sending them on.
Incompetence in Mendocino County elections office for allowing them to be sent out, sending out a 2nd round of incorrect ballots! and then further mishandling the situation (read my comment below).
Any of this could have happened through sheer incopetence and unprofessionalism w/o any deceit or ulterior motive behind it. It was not a very important ballot and Mendocino voters aren’t going to swing anything statewide so assuming fraud with no logical motive is …chicken little stuff. the only fraud was in hiring incompetents and posing them as professionals.
Did you read the article before commenting?
Because nothing in the article points to election fraud.
Only those challenged by logic, failing basic reading comprehension or intentionally spreading falsehoods could claim a printing screwup is evidence of election fraud.
Having worked for states in the past i can assure you of one thing , ethics are huge deal doesnt matter if a person or vendor was unethical or not the mere appearance of unethical acts is a violation of the ethics policy . When she was notified that there was trouble from other states, she went to the vender instead of notifying the state that there appeared to be a problem . Not only that she publicly supported the vendor . Now it turns out that the vendor appears to be at the very least attempting fraud by playing fast and loose with employees and names , for 15 years . That in and of itself is a form or fraud and since they are a vendor for the elections office it is voter fraud plain and simply this public employee failed in her duties and should be terminated .
So you’re saying that Katrina Bartolomie had a chummy relationship with an incompetent company and that is what allowed the pile out of errors?
Well i am saying that she acted unprofessionally instead of launching a investigation into matters when she was notified that other counties and states were having problems with this company she forwarded the warning she received to the company in question there by tipping them off as to what other government agencies were saying about them . If you think that is being chummy then i would have to agree . As a government employee tipping a private company off about possible investigations and not opening or requesting or even turning said info over to the authorities is less than ethical at the very least
The info brought to the elections official was all public info that was searchable online.
By contacting the vendor to ask about it she was doing her job, not “tipping them off” to stuff they already knew about.
You can fault her for poor judgement in sticking with the vendor but that’s not fraud unless you have proof she was on the take. Do you? No, you don’t.
So what’s driving you? Because you seem to have a personal jihad for the elections official.
Fired for incompetence? Not hired because your functional illiteracy was obvious from how you filled out the application form? Think you’re saving the Republic by stopping election fraud at its source, right where it starts in Mendo County?
Your “logic” supporting election or voter fraud fails, thereby proving my point.
Let’s assume (as you apparently do) that the vendor committed wrongful and criminal acts in a fraudulent attempt to hold onto government ballot printing contracts, ok?
Then you say “since they are a vendor for the elections office it is voter fraud.” Huh?
The vendor may or may not have committed financial fraud but supplying incorrect BLANK ballots is not election fraud.
Let me guess, you probably think there’s iron clad evidence of massive 2020 election fraud that over 60 courts and the Supreme Court are covering up, right?
Many people dont remember how to dot an i or cross a t anymore. Quality assurance is not assured.
People actually believe voting works still?
now, what makes you think it doesn’t?
its not who votes.
Its who counts the votes…..
Well…even the county office didn’t know how to handle it. Maybe Bartolomie should be replaced also? I received my first incorrect ballot. Then just a couple days before the deadline to mail in I received my second and revised ballot. I had already sent in the first ballot. I called the county election office and asked the obvious question- Should I even send in this second ballot? It will miss the deadline to vote! I was told that yes- send in the second ballot we will be throwing out the first ballot. I informed her that right there in bold print on the ballot it said something to the effect of “VOTING TWICE IS A CRIMINAL ACT”. She said to just ignore that! Well…my second vote would have been the exact same as my first vote so I told her that. She did not have a good answer for me and left me in a conundrum…obviously she was not trained to answer the most obvious questions in this situation. I don’t fault the woman on the phone- I fault the office and especially the office manager. I will never know if my vote was counted. That is not right. The ballots were misprinted AND the county elections office failed to figure out a rational work-around.
It’s pretty clear the entire first batch of ballots were voided and not counted including that first ballot you sent in so that didn’t count as a vote.
So if you didn’t fill out and send in the second ballot you didn’t officially vote at all.
Woah, like, no way! I get what you’re saying, they were totally trying to entrap you with that second ballot!
If you saved the tear-off tab from your ballot as instructed you actually could verify whether or not your vote was counted. It’s easier and faster than rolling a doob. Try it bro!
Hope Bartolomie doesn’t send her goons to harsh your scene bro!
Ha ha! I don’t smoke much anymore. And I’m not worried, bro. But I do take the democratic process and my little insignificant vote seriously. And I do not think the actual Elections Office should be giving me contradictory information or mailing me my 2nd “correct” ballot over a month after the incorrect ballot and just before the deadline. And I think it’s weird you turned this into a complaint against me…I was just trying to vote! I was stymied in that and I detailed my experience here…I have a valid concern
Why you getting so salty bro? I’m on your side in this homie. Just suggested you save the voter verification tab from your ballot next time. If you’re so serious about your vote I’d think you would have already known that. I do it every election bro, try it. Also if you’d read the article more closely, dude, man, you would totally understand that this is the only way the office could legally deal with a very uncool and faulty product from the printing company. No harm no foul dude but you sound like you need to burn one. Wont help your confusion but might chill you out. I got a nice indica for that scro
There was no “rational work around.” Only declaring the first ballot invalid would avoid having to compare each ballot then contact each voter individually if they weren’t identical. Which would have violated voter privacy regulations. The county was doomed to be blamed either way once the printing mistake irritated voters.
Yes. But when I called the office directly and they gave me a confounding answer…I was unable to have my vote. The 2nd ballot was mailed out very close to the deadline and you know some of us have remote addresses where we only check our mail when we get into town…I had hoped my 1st vote was counted but I realize now that I probably got no vote at all. And now I will be removed from the voter list for next election? Hmm…I’d like to call the Elections Office but I don’t trust their answers anymore- it’s a shitshow and yes that makes me distrust Bartolomie’s abilities to run a professional office.
No that won’t cause a removal from the voter list. But I now see what you meant and agree it was bad. I don’t wend my way to the mail box that often myself.
Never mind dude it sounds like voting isn’t that important to you. Either you were inattentive or didn’t care if that “prevented” you from voting bro, and your remote address is on you. Maybe your just stirring up shit and that’s cool too hombre. It’s all good bro lots of people don’t care. My wife doesn’t care, she’s a doctor
Bro you were aware of the faulty ballot issue on February 10th, nearly a month before the election. At least you were posting on relevant rhbb articles that day. It just sounds like you were too burned out or lazy to get to your P.O. Box in time to vote. You probably didn’t care bro and that’s cool but just admit it. Now you’re stirring up shit just for kicks I guess. Kind of a pattern for you it seems. What a farce indeed
“Well….the rural areas don’t have any voting power. Whoever the pacified urban droids get convinced to vote for wins. The numbers are not close and we have an electoral college system so just throw bread and circus at the city asses and that’s how ya ‘win” the opportunity to represent the Uni-Party of the military-industrial BigPharma BigOil fascist oligarchy for the next 4 years! All of the frustration the little people vent over these elections is energy wasted…peons and serfs fighting each other over crumbs”
-Farce, Feb 10 2024
https://kymkemp.com/2024/02/10/massive-ballot-mix-up-in-mendocino-county-ahead-of-march-elections-being-investigated-by-state/
Crickets……
Wow! I’m living in your head and I think you have an obsessive crush on me. I wrote down above what happened to my vote in this particular shitshow. And I do care about my vote- whether it matters or not. But you should probably blow your mind some more. Go ahead. Smoke it to pieces, foolio
Yeah I know, I read your sad voting story, better luck getting that ballot in next time dude. Much sympathy and love. And bro I don’t even smoke at all, it’s just for the custeez bro. All legal and permitted. I know that pisses you off, sorry you couldn’t get it together. Hope you still have a few buckets of dirty money to dig up bro. I’m sorry you have a hard time understanding the whole voting thing, best of luck getting to the P.O. Box next election home slice.
Funny thing is I’m just a tourist here every so often. Your comment section record shows you’ve got nothing better to do than post here each and every day. Every trip to the P.O. Box costs you valuable internet time. Like I said, maybe you should take a puff and get some forest time away from the computer monitor, best of luck bro
Don’t panic. This was a major screw-up by a poorly run company in bankruptcy. It will be corrected and Mendo will have a proper election.
This was a very informative article. Thank you.
What’s the difference between a politician and a hooker?A hooker will stop fucking you once you run out of money.