By Chuck McCurry
chuck.lexchron@gmail.com

Have you seen on social media that absentee ballot return envelopes have a “secret code.”
The claim is that there is an R or D next to the barcode which shows you are a Democrat or Republican.
Some speculate that it is on all ballots and an unscrupulous postal or election worker could toss out cetain ballots.

Don’t believe it.

Mary Brack at the Lexington County Election Commission confirmed the June primary elections had different Republican and Democrat ballots.
Yes, there was an R or D after the barcode on the absentee return ballot envelopes.

That was because the ballots went to different locations to be counted.
The D and R was a way to determine which ballot was in the envelope.
“They had to know which ballot the voter had ordered.

"They all come here to be counted, and we do not sort the ballots,” said Brack.
She said general election absentee ballot return envelopes do not have a D or an R.
There are codes on the absentee ballots but they have nothing to do with your political party affiliation.

Your ballot will have a series of code numbers on the left hand side of the ballot like this:
02 – Your congressional district
26 – senate seat
93 – House seat
09 – county council seat
01 – school district
38 – voting precinct
3 ways to vote in the Nov. 3 election:
⦁ Vote absentee in-person at the election commission office on West Main St. in Lexington.
⦁ Apply for a mail-in absentee ballot.
⦁ Show up at the polls on Nov. 3.
The absentee ballot drop box is in front of the Lexington County Election Commission office at  605 West Main Street in Lexington.