Dallas

Denton County Ballot Mixup Blamed on ‘Human Error'

There are two Clarissa Riveras in Denton County. One is an attorney, and the other is a home organizer.

On Sunday, Argyle resident Clarissa Chandler Rivera tried to vote early, only to find out someone with the same name voted in her place.

"My wife presented her Texas driver's license and her voter registration card. Both her DL and voter card have our current address, which is in Argyle, Texas," said Victor Rivera, her husband, in a statement to NBC 5. "The staff member handling the check-in informed my wife that the system showed that Clair had already voted on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016 at the Lewisville Municipal Annex."

Victor Rivera demanded a thorough investigation. He contacted the Denton County Elections Administration and Denton County Republican Party chairwoman Lisa Hendrickson.

"There is only one Clarissa Rivera registered in Denton County to vote," said Hendrickson. "It turned out, the Clarissa Rivera who did vote is registered in Dallas County."

The other Clarissa Rivera lives in Lewisville. She told NBC 5 she moved from Coppell eight years ago.

Lewisville resident Clarissa Rivera said she cast her ballot at the Lewisville Municipal Annex last Thursday.

Kerry Martin, Denton County's elections deputy, said an election worker at the Lewisville Municipal Annex failed to follow voter verification procedures.

"That did not happen in this case. Unfortunately, the worker did not take all of the information and did not check the date of birth," said Martin. "This is human error."

On Tuesday, the Denton County Elections Administration spent the day training its staff. Martin said the worker who made the mistake was not disciplined.

Argyle resident Clarissa Rivera did cast a provisional ballot.

"My wife and I are very upset with this entire process, and what has occurred clearly shows that the election process is flawed and can be easily manipulated, either intentionally or by human error. If we do not change the way things are done, voter fraud can occur time and time again," said Victor Rivera.

Hendrickson is concerned there could be similar cases.

"It's frightening to me that it can actually happen again. What do we not know about? You drop the ball when someone walks up and gives you a form of identification and you don't make sure you verify the middle name, verify the birth date and an address," said Hendrickson. "Every voter when they go to the polls should know the integrity of the ballot is the most important thing. We need to know when we go to the polls, the ballot and the integrity is protected and sacred."

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