Some ballots in Faribault County incorrectly labeled candidates’ party affiliation, a spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s Office said Friday.

County officials discovered the mistake on Friday, the first day of early voting. The Secretary of State’s Office said 17 misprinted ballots were issued.

State Rep. Peggy Bennett, R-Albert Lea, who represents District 23A, says she was contacted by a Republican supporter on Friday who asked when she became a Democrat. The supporter said he cast his ballot Friday morning and noticed the error.

The Secretary of State’s website shows Bennett is running against Joe Staloch, a member of the DFL.

“That does not leave me with a lot of confidence, nor does it leave our voters with a lot of confidence,” Bennett says. “Whatever it is, we have to get to election integrity, for every voter, whatever side of the alley you’re on, you want to know that your vote counts, that the system works, and right now that’s really shaky and it shouldn’t be.”

In a statement, the Secretary of State’s Office says it’s up to counties to prepare ballots in collaboration with their ballot programming and printing vendors.

It also adds that county officials will be pursuing corrective action through the courts. 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has reached out to Faribault County for a comment.

The statement from the Secretary of State continued, saying, “The Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State is responsible for providing a list of certified candidate names to all counties, and that certification along with political party affiliation was provided accurately and on time. In addition, recognizing the importance of accuracy, the office has provided extra training and resources this year to all counties on how to proof ballots to ensure that errors like this are not missed in the proofing process.

In every election, despite the best efforts of our hard-working county election officials, mistakes happen. Our office is thankful for the swift action of Faribault County officials after learning of the error and is committed to partnering with them where appropriate to ensure this mistake is remedied for all impacted voters as soon as possible.”

The Republican National Committee says they also received reports of the error.

In a statement, Staloch said, “I was made aware of this issue earlier today. I also know that the Secretary of State’s office and Faribault County are working swiftly and diligently to ensure every voter’s ballot is correct.”

A Secretary of State spokesperson confirmed the ballots for State Representative District 23A issued by Freeborn, Steele, and Waseca counties accurately list the candidates’ parties and emphasized that the misprint is limited to Faribault County.