Via DCBOEE website.

Via DCBOEE website.

Two days after Mayor Gray declared the incident a “complete fiasco,” the D.C. Board of Elections issued an apology for mailing out a voter guide with an upside-down flag on the cover then lying about what happened.

“Well, we messed up. BIG time,” the statement reads. “The cover of the Voter’s Guide recently mailed to you had an image of the District’s flag turned upside down. That is our fault, and we apologize for displaying the flag in that manner. If that weren’t enough, we also fumbled our handling of the issue, and we apologize to you for that as well.”

Said fumbling involved the Board’s spokesperson claiming the flag was intentionally placed upside down as part of a game to get people to notice the guide. After Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, who chairs the Committee on Government Operations, issued a statement calling the upside down flag a mistake, an email from Board of Election Executive Director Clifford Tatum revealed that the flag was an “error.”

“That said, we put some really good stuff INSIDE the Guide; please read it,” today’s statement continues. “Again, it is important to us that you know that we recognize our mistake, and we are changing the way we do things. Let’s move forward together for a successful election.”

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