On Tuesday, thousands of Missourians will head to the polls to decide who they want to represent their political party. With the Republican and Democratic races still neck-and-neck, every vote is expected to count.
Just ask Richard Hilton.
"This is the most important election in my lifetime, and we vote regularly," the 77-year-old told 41 Action News.
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Now disabled, both Hilton and his wife applied for absentee voting so they could comfortably choose their candidates from home. Hilton said they both request Republican Party ballots; he and his wife have been registered as Republican “forever.” But the Kansas City Election Board sent them two Democratic Party ballots instead.
"I thought it was a simple mix-up. But in my mind, I'm thinking how could they make that simple mix-up with my wife and myself," Hilton said.
Hilton called the election board. They promised to overnight two new ballots.
"When I opened it and these fell out, I was surprised," he said. "I couldn't believe they spent that much money to send me these. I couldn't believe it. That's not a proper allocation of funds, is it? It wouldn't be at my house."
The envelope, which costs $22.95 to overnight, contained two Democratic Party ballots yet again.
41 Action News spoke with Shawn Kieffer, the Republican director of elections for the Kansas City Election Board.
"We are busy, but we do our best to get them the right ballot. If by chance they don't get the satisfaction of the ballot, we can always try and home-vote them or they can go to the polls [Tuesday]," said Kieffer.
Hilton and his wife now plan on voting at the polls in person.
He has called the Secretary of State's office to file a complaint. He was told the incident is now being investigated.
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