The Snohomish County’s Auditor’s Office discovered a big problem yesterday. 1,278 ballots from Lynnwood area precincts, including a nursing home, had not been mailed.

Auditor Carolyn Weikel told our news partners at the Seattle Times that the ballots were set aside during printing because of an error.

She said that as the ballots were mechanically stuffed into envelopes, a machine automatically checked bar codes to be sure they were the same on each. An operator noticed that some did not match and put them aside to be redone. They weren’t redone, Weikel said.

The auditor’s office discovered the problem when they started getting calls from voters who had not received ballots.

They mailed a letter to affected voters yesterday along with their ballots. The letter told them that the ballots must be dropped off by 8 p.m. today or be postmarked today. An additional drop-off center has been placed at the Château Pacific Retirement Community at 3333 148th St. SW, where many residents did not receive ballots. They can also be dropped off at the Lynnwood library.