Approximately 500 voters in precinct 156 in Central Whidbey recently received the incorrect ballots for the upcoming Aug. 5 primary election, Island County Deputy Auditor and Elections Supervisor Michele Reagan confirmed to the News-Times on Monday.

Shortly after the mistake was discovered, replacement ballots with the correct information were mailed out.

Up to two positions are included on the ballot depending on where residents are located: a seat on the Whidbey Island Public Hospital District board of commissioners and one on the Central Whidbey Island Fire and Rescue board of commissioners.

The county “inadvertently” distributed ballots containing the Central Whidbey Fire District office to the entirety of precinct 156, Reagan said in an email, as the precinct is not wholly under the jurisdiction of a single fire district.

North Whidbey Fire and Rescue’s website lists their area of service as “over 55 square miles from Deception Pass to Libbey Road,” whereas Central Whidbey Island Fire and Rescue serves “50 square miles” south of that, from Libbey Road to Mutiny Bay Road.

Whether residents in precinct 156 can vote on the Central Whidbey Island Fire District position depends on which side of Libbey Road they live on.

Reagan explained the Elections Office became aware of the issue within four days of the ballots’ distribution. Replacement ballots containing only the office for the Whidbey Island Public Hospital District were sent out to affected voters within 24 hours after that.

“Our election system will track the original ballots’ status and the replacement ballots’ status so that only the correct ballot will be tabulated for the impacted voters,” she wrote.