MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – The Alabama secretary of state says an error that prompted the reprinting of nearly three million ballots cost the state $450,000.
Secretary of State John Merrill on Friday announced the final cost for the reprint. He said the exact cost was $459,690.80.
Merrill says an employee made a transcription error in a proposed amendment aimed at shoring up funding for the state park system.
The original ballot left off language to prevent the Alabama Legislature from diverting money generated by Alabama’s state parks for other government purposes. The amendment also allowed the state park system to hire more private entities to operate more hotels and amenities in the state.
The amendment was approved last month.
Merrill said the employee who made the error no longer works in the office.
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Everybody makes mistakes. I know I do. But when you're talking about the language going out on millions of ballots, don't you think they would have had a second set of eyes look for errors?
Has the employee who "no longer works in the office" been transferred to another state job?
Are they changing procedures to make sure it doesn't happen again? Where did the extra half a million come from?[Sunday Focus is a regular feature of www.timlennox.com]
The state should have hired me, even though I live in Maryland now.
ReplyDeleteAfter all, I proof-read my wife's doctoral dissertation (230 pages) twice, in 1999.
She earned her doctorate, so I must have done a good job.