Alabama's secretary of state says an error that forced nearly three million ballots to be reprinted cost the state over $450,000.
Secretary of State John Merrill announced the final cost for the reprint yesterday. He says the exact cost was $459,690.80.
Merrill says an employee made a transcription error in a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at protecting funding for Alabama's state park system.
The original ballot left off language intended to prevent the Alabama Legislature from diverting money generated by Alabama's state parks for other government purposes. The amendment also allowed the state park system to hire more private entities to operate hotels and amenities within the parks.
The amendment was approved last month. Merrill says the employee responsible for the error no longer works in the office.