Ocean county clerk up for re-election already screwed up on mail-in election ballots

TOMS RIVER, NJ – Ocean County Clerk Scott Colabella is on the election ballot this year, but he has already screwed the printing and mailing of those ballots. Colabella says it was human error, but said that 99.9% of the ballots his office is printing and mailing out to Ocean County voters are correct.

The problem? Colabella’s office said voters in Point Pleasant are receiving mail-in ballots for Long Beach Township. Colabella said the county is printing 424,000 ballots for this election and is advising Point Pleasant voters to double-check their ballots. The ballots were the first wave of ballots sent to smaller towns and boroughs across Ocean County.

According to a News 12 story today, more than 20 voters have come forward so far. But Colabella says that the ballots mostly went out correctly. Ballots for the smaller 26 towns in Ocean County have all been mailed out. Now it’s up to Colabella’s office to make sure the majority of the ballots get into the hands of the right voters.

“As our staff continues to work 7 days a week to send out over 400,000 Vote by Mail Ballots, voters in the following towns should be receiving their ballots in the mail in the next few days: Lacey, Little Egg Harbor and Stafford. As of today, our office has mailed ballots to 26 of the 33 municipalities in Ocean County,” Colabella posted on the County Clerk’s Facebook page.

Shore News Network Staff Report Latest posts

Shore News Network Staff Report is the official newsroom byline used by Shore News Network when a story is produced through the collaborative work of multiple members of the editorial team rather than a single reporter.

This newsroom account is reserved for articles that involve contributions from multiple journalists, editors, photographers, researchers, or news desk staff. It is also used for developing stories that are updated as new verified information becomes available, as well as for community announcements, weather coverage, public safety alerts, election results, and other newsroom-produced content.

Every article published under the Shore News Network Staff Report byline is reviewed and edited in accordance with the organization's editorial standards for accuracy, fairness, attribution, and transparency. Information is verified through official government agencies, court records, law enforcement, public documents, direct reporting, interviews, and other reliable primary and secondary sources before publication whenever possible.

The Staff Report account does not use artificial intelligence to independently generate news or publish unverified information. AI-assisted tools may occasionally be used for editorial support tasks such as transcription, formatting, grammar review, or workflow efficiency, but all published content is subject to human editorial oversight and approval by Shore News Network's newsroom staff.

As an independently owned digital news organization, Shore News Network is committed to original reporting, public safety journalism, government accountability, local community coverage, and breaking news throughout New Jersey and surrounding regions. Stories published under the Staff Report byline reflect the collective experience and editorial judgment of the Shore News Network newsroom.

Readers who have corrections, additional information, or news tips related to a Staff Report article are encouraged to contact the newsroom at news@shorenewsnetwork.com. Shore News Network welcomes factual corrections and updates as part of its commitment to accurate, transparent journalism.