Napa ballot had Sanders at wrong party

After mistakenly listing state senate candidate Joanne Sanders as a Republican, the Napa County Registrar of Voters has mailed out 69,000 postcards to correct the mistake.

The costly do-over, on its way to all registered voters in Napa County this week, will be paid for by the printing vendor responsible for the typo, according to Napa registrar John Tuteur.
The error appears on the front page of voter pamphlets and inside the sample ballot pamphlets sent to all voters in Napa County.

Tuteur had dismissed the mislabeling as unfortunate but, as it appeared on an “optional filler page” it was not “a material error.” Sanders’ initial demand for a correction was denied via email.

But after the gaffe got national press and Sanders’ camp threatened a lawsuit, Tatuer, who himself faces reelection in June, reversed his decision.

Sanders switched from the Republican to the Democratic Party three years ago, but her name has never appeared on any previous Napa County ballot. She is running against Assemblywoman Noreen Evans for the 2nd District seat, which includes Napa County.