An error by Lancaster County's mail-in ballot vendor means more than half of all mail-in ballots will have to be hand-counted, causing a significant delay in final results â likely into the weekend.Â
Michigan Elections Resources printed multi-sheet ballots in the wrong order, affecting approximately 14,000 ballots, Lancaster County Board of Elections officials said Tuesday. Those ballots cannot be fed through the countyâs ballot scanners. Â
Roughly 27,000 mail-in ballots were requested for the primary. As of Tuesday afternoon, nearly 18,000 had been returned.Â
"We'll be starting the hand count at the end of the week, weekend; we're fleshing that out at the moment," said Christa Miller, chief clerk of the board of elections. She said she anticipates the hand county will take three to four days to complete, and final results will be available by early next week.Â