Volusia elections office re-sending about 350 mail ballots after vendor error put wrong contests on them

The Volusia County Supervisor of Elections office said Oct. 22 that a vendor error caused some voters to receive incorrect vote-by-mail ballots for the Nov. 3, 2026 general election, and that it would mail replacement ballots to those voters the following day.¹ Central Florida Public Media reported Friday, Oct. 23, that Supervisor of Elections Lisa Lewis said she had signed all of the replacement ballots that morning.²

What the office says happened

According to the office’s release, the problem appears to be confined to one mailing linked to an Oct. 7 delivery date in its voter registration system. About 350 ballots were affected. In every case the office had found as of the release, the voter was sent a ballot carrying the contests for a different city. The office said it was still working to determine how far the problem reached.¹

The release does not name the vendor. Lewis said in it that the office will “hold the vendor responsible for this error” and is looking at every option available to it. She also said she was “truly sorry.”¹

Central Florida Public Media reported further detail that the release does not contain. The station said every affected voter lives in Congressional District 6, and that some ballots could have listed District 7 contests instead. It said some of those voters could have been left without a school board race or given a county council race other than their own. According to the station, most of the voters involved live in the northern part of the county, among them areas near Daytona Beach, Holly Hill, Ormond Beach and DeLand.²

Ballots already returned

The office’s release does not say what will happen to incorrect ballots that voters have already sent back.¹ Central Florida Public Media reported that seven of the incorrect ballots had already been counted and that voters who have already cast a ballot will not be sent a replacement. The station also reported that each replacement ballot comes with a notice explaining the error.²

What voters can do

• Call the office: voters who believe they received the wrong ballot are asked to call the Supervisor of Elections office at 386-736-5930, where staff can go over their ballot information and help them with what to do next.¹
• Return the replacement: Central Florida Public Media reported that voters can mail the corrected ballot back, drop it off at any early voting site during open hours, or vote in person instead.²
• Early voting: daily through Oct. 31, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., at nine sites in Volusia County.¹
• Election Day: Tuesday, Nov. 3, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., at the voter’s assigned polling place.¹
• Office address: 1588 N. Woodland Blvd., DeLand.¹

Mail voting in Volusia so far

In the Florida Division of Elections report compiled at 8:05 a.m. Oct. 23, which counts activity through the previous day, Volusia County showed 39,484 returned vote-by-mail ballots and 36,944 mail ballots sent to voters and not yet returned. The same report showed 23,736 early votes cast in the county.³ The report does not identify which ballots were part of the affected mailing.

What the records do not show

• The release does not name the vendor or say which cities’ contests appeared on the incorrect ballots.
• The release does not list the congressional, school board or county council districts involved; those details come from Central Florida Public Media.
• No record reviewed explains how incorrect ballots the office has already received are handled.
• The state’s daily report does not separate the affected ballots from other mail ballots.