Fresno man gets wrong ballot sent to him

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- We are five days away from the California primary election and some Central Valley residents are having problems with their ballots.

For weeks, Frank Plante checked the mailbox looking for one thing-- his absentee ballot. So when it finally arrived he thought nothing of it. That was until he and his wife sat down together to fill their cards out.

"She says, 'who are you voting for mayor,' and I said, 'for mayor?' I said, 'I don't have a spot for mayor. Who are you voting for councilman."

Turns out Plante switched his political party this year to Republican but received the Democratic ballot-- and for another precinct.

Plante isn't the only one in the Central Valley who has already had voting issues.

Senator Andy Vidak posted on Facebook saying he never received his absentee ballot, and after calling the Kings County Election's Office was told it's because the DMV has him listed as "pending fatal."

We reached out to the California Secretary of State's Office who, after looking at Vidak's case, said, "This issue does not appear to be caused by state voter registration systems or voter registration information received from the Department of Motor Vehicles."

And while Vidak is taking action to have his issue resolved Plante fears more people are experiencing similar problems but are not coming forward.

"I can't imagine in a city as large as Fresno that this would only happen to me."

Fresno County Clerk Brandi Orth said there have not been any major issues. And she said anyone who is experiencing a problem should contact the Election's Office immediately.

"Please, if you think something is amiss give us a call. Call us right away, we will make it every effort to try to rectify whatever situation there is and make sure all of your ballots count," said Orth.

Plante said he's just happy Orth resolved his issue quickly, even stopping by his house and allowing him to fill out his new ballot at home.

"I did my voting, she took away my ballot, she took away the old ballot so there wouldn't be any chance of duplicating, and that was the end of it," said Plante.

The Election's Office will be open this Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. for folks wanting to come in to vote or take care of issues.

The primary election is Tuesday and polls open at 7:00 a.m.