Berks County election officials say they will send a letter to about 17,000 voters who received mail-in ballot materials listing the wrong deadline in Spanish instructions.
The mail-in ballots sent this month include English instructions on one side and Spanish instructions on the other that list the deadline to return ballots to the county as “el 18 de Noviembre,” or Nov. 18. Election Day, when the board of elections must receive mail-in ballots by 8 p.m., is Nov. 2. The date is correct in the English instructions.
Diana Robinson, civic engagement director for Make The Road Pennsylvania, said the error is unfortunate because its discovery only about two weeks before the election could cause members of the Spanish-speaking community to miss their opportunity to vote.
“This kind of misinformation is very bad,” Robinson said.
Berks County commissioners spokesperson Stephanie Weaver said the incorrect date was included in the first batch of about 17,000 mail-in ballots sent to voters. The Spanish instructions were corrected for all subsequent mailings. The county has provided about 21,000 mail-in ballots.
“As far as I know it was just an unfortunate oversight that has been corrected,” Weaver said.
She explained that the same wording was used for the primary election May 18 and the month was changed for the general election but the day of the month was not. Weaver said although the county has been working to make residents aware of deadlines related to Election Day through other channels, a letter will also be sent this week to all voters who received the instructions that had the incorrect deadline on the Spanish side, noting the error and reinforcing the Nov. 2 deadline.
Berks County’s Hispanic and Latino residents make up more than 16% of its population. In Reading, the county’s largest municipality, 69% of residents identified as Hispanic or Latino, according to the 2020 census.
Robinson said misinformation on official documents puts great responsibility on organizations like Make The Road, which promotes involvement in civic life among Hispanic and Latino residents, to ensure that voters have the correct information.
“This misinformation creates a lot of problems for people who just want to be active participants in our democracy,” she said.
Make The Road will inform members of the error at regular meetings, share it on social media and call or text members to spread the word, Robinson said.
The mistake is concerning because it shows that Spanish-speaking residents continue to be an afterthought. It creates additional hurdles after Hispanic and Latino advocacy groups succeeded in having Spanish-language instructions included with the ballots, Robinson said.
“The way it’s being presented now I don’t see anything nefarious but it is very careless,” she said.
Morning Call reporter Peter Hall can be reached at 610-820-6581 or peter.hall@mcall.com.
