Ballots that include incorrect information about two Minnesota House candidates continue to be handed out to early voters in Faribault County while the state and county work on a solution.

“They are still using those ballots right now,” says Rep. Peggy Bennett (R) Albert Lea, who is incorrectly listed as a member of the DFL Party on the ballots in Faribault County. “They have to, by law, allow people to vote. New ballots are being printed.”

Bennett and her opponent are both listed incorrectly, with Democrat Joe Staloch identified as a Republican. The error was discovered Friday, on the first day of early voting.

New ballots will have to be printed, but the county will need a court order to send corrected ballots to anyone who voted using the incorrect ballots.

“To have a fairly significant, not fairly, it’s a seriously significant mistake like that really surprised me,” Bennett told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS. Bennett is seeking a sixth term and won her race in 2022 with 65% of the vote, or nearly 6,000 votes. She doesn’t believe any fraud is involved, but is concerned about what mistakes like this do to the faith voters have in electoral systems.

“When people hear this kind of thing its right away, no this is fraud…and I want to assure people this is not fraud at the county or state level. This was a mistake,” Bennett says.

The Minnesota Secretary of State oversees elections in the state, but individual counties are responsible for their own ballots and ensuring their accuracy.

Late Tuesday afternoon another ballot issue came to light in Wabasha County. Voters in Zumbro Falls, which is located in House District 20B, received ballots with the candidates listed from House District 20A. Republican Steve Jacob, R-Altura, represents 20B, but the ballots instead include the race involving fellow Republican Rep. Pam Altendorf, R-Red Wing, who represents 20A

“These errors are unacceptable and need to be quickly resolved by the Secretary of State and the county to ensure voters in Zumbro aren’t disenfranchised,” the two Republicans said in a joint statement. They both won by wide margins in 2022.

Adding to the complexity of that issue, Zumbro Falls votes entirely by mail.

By law, both ballot issues will need to be addressed by the courts.