A mailer sent out by the Republican National Committee in Montana, where Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Tester is in a close race against Republican Matt Rosendale, contained false information on how to vote absentee, according to the Washington Post.
The mailer told voters that absentee ballots could be received and counted up to ten days after the election, as long as they were postmarked by November 5th. In fact, absentee ballots in Montana must be received by 8 p.m. on election day in order to be counted, according to election officials.
The RNC called the information in the mailer a mistake.
“We regret the unintentional error we made in a recent mailing,” RNC spokesman Rick Gorka said in a statement. “We are contacting all voters who received the mailing through live phone calls and we are sending new mailers to each voter providing clarification.”
GOP officials have apparently apologized to state officials for the mistake, according to Montana’s political practices commissioner, Jeff Mangan. “They said it was an oversight, that it was not meant to mislead any Montana voter, and it was their intent to distribute a new mailer with the correct information,” Mangan told Montana Public Radio.
A poll released yesterday showed Tester up 3 points in the close race, but that number is within the margin of error. Misinformation like this, intentional or not, could make the difference if the vote is close enough for a recount.