Fresno County ballot-marking machines misprint school district race labels — Photo: Douglas W. Jones — CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Fresno County ballot-marking machines misprint school district race labels
Ballot-marking devices at Fresno County vote centers are mislabeling the Fresno Unified School District trustee race as Fowler Unified School District when printing ballots, according to the Fresno County Elections Department.
The error affects three contests: Fresno Unified School District Trustee Areas 1, 3, and 4. The screen on the ballot-marking device displays the correct race title when a voter makes their selection, but the printed ballot shows the wrong district name.
Fresno County Registrar of Voters James A. Kus stated that votes are still recorded and counted for the correct Fresno Unified School District race despite the printing error. Mail-in ballots and ballots printed on demand at vote centers do not show the error — only ballots printed by the electronic marking devices.
The Elections Department cannot fix the printing issue before Election Day. Signs will be posted at all ballot-marking devices describing the error. Voters eligible to vote in the affected trustee areas may request a ballot printed on demand at any Vote Center instead of using the marking device.
Kus stated that following Election Day, additional precincts in each of the three affected trustee areas will be drawn for auditing in the Manual Tally. The county will add another manual proofing step for ballots printed by ballot-marking devices in future elections, beyond the proofing already applied to hand-marked ballots.
A Zero Report showing all contests and candidates on the November 3, 2026, Consolidated Statewide General Election ballots across Fresno County is available online.
The Breakdown
- The error occurs only on ballots printed by electronic ballot-marking devices at vote centers, not on mail-in ballots or ballots printed on demand.
- Three races are affected: Fresno Unified School District Trustee Areas 1, 3, and 4.
- The device screen shows the correct district name when the voter selects, but the printed ballot incorrectly labels the race as Fowler Unified School District.
- The Registrar states the vote is recorded and counted for the correct Fresno Unified race regardless of the printed label.
- Voters in the affected areas can request a ballot printed on demand at any Vote Center to avoid the mislabeled ballot.
What This Means for You
If you live in Fresno Unified School District Trustee Area 1, 3, or 4 and vote in person using a ballot-marking device, your printed ballot will show the wrong district name for the school board race you voted in. The Registrar states your vote will still count for the correct Fresno Unified race. You can avoid the mislabeled ballot by requesting a ballot printed on demand at your Vote Center instead of using the marking device.
This is an administration error in an election affecting Fresno County voters.
What You Can Do
If you are eligible to vote in Fresno Unified School District Trustee Area 1, 3, or 4 and prefer a ballot that shows the correct race label, request a ballot printed on demand at any Vote Center rather than using the ballot-marking device. The Elections Department stated those printed-on-demand ballots do not show the error.
Voters with questions may contact the Fresno County Elections Department.
What to Watch
The Registrar states the vote counts correctly despite the printed label error. The county states it will add another manual proofing step for ballot-marking device output in future elections, beyond the proofing already applied to hand-marked ballots.
A Zero Report is available showing the contests and candidates. The county will conduct additional precinct audits in the Manual Tally after Election Day for the three affected trustee areas.
