Chile Flag Mistakenly Used on Texas Ballot

A ballot in Atascosa County in Texas has accidentally displayed the Chilean national flag instead of the flag of the Lone Star State.

Both flags are strikingly similar. They both feature red and white horizontal stripes and a vertical stripe of blue with a single white star. However, as evidenced below, there’s a major distinguishing feature in the amount of blue and placement of the star on the flags. This feature, however, went unrecognized by election workers.

The Statesman reports that a Texan student studying in Japan first noticed the error and brought it to officials’ attention. In an e-mail to the Statesman he shared his reaction to the mistake.

I guess it’s funny in some way, but my initial reaction was more disbelief that no one had noticed.

The elections administrator in Atascosa County, Janice Ruple, explained that the error was the responsibility of her predecessor. According to Ruple the woman who held her job before her “took liberties” with the ballots, adding in elements at her own will. Ruple wasn’t sure how long the Chilean flag had been on the ballet unnoticed.

As to how Chile’s flag has managed to last on a Texas ballot, Ruple explains simply:

“We just never caught it.”