Nearly 8,000 California voters sent duplicate midterm ballots�
Thousands of California voters received duplicate mail-in ballots ahead of the Nov. 3 midterms, raising fresh questions about the state’s election process.

The main error happened in Tulare County. A longtime printing vendor (Porterville-based ProVote Solutions) mistakenly reprinted and mailed a batch of ballots, affecting roughly 7,800–8,000 voters — about 3% of the county’s 227,000 registered voters. In the Republican-leaning city of Tulare (just over 34,500 registered voters), the impact was much higher: roughly 23% received duplicates.

Voters noticed the problem when extra ballots arrived days apart. One resident, Mario Garcia, said he found one ballot on Friday and another the next time he checked his mail; his wife and son also received duplicates. The mix-up prompted calls and in-person visits to the registrar’s office in Visalia, with people worried they could be accused of trying to vote twice.
County Registrar of Voters Chief Clerk Michelle Baldwin said the printer accepted full responsibility. Officials stressed that safeguards are in place so the extra ballots cannot be counted.

A separate, smaller issue occurred in Imperial County, where 160 voters with confidential status received duplicate ballots due to changes in processing procedures under California law.

The incidents come as federal officials announced charges against 28 people in California for election-related crimes (including alleged fraudulent voter registration and false statements on naturalization applications), and amid ongoing disputes over noncitizen voting and ballot security in the state.