DENVER — Roughly 800,000 Colorado voters received ballots listing Issue 7A, a proposed sales tax for Front Range passenger rail, even though they live outside the district’s boundaries and are not eligible to vote on it. The problem affected ballots in Adams, Arapahoe, Douglas and Weld counties, where clerks used an older, larger district map. State lawmakers narrowed the Front Range Passenger Rail District this past legislative session. The revised boundaries cover 31 cities along the planned rail line and Sterling Ranch in Douglas County, rather than the 13 counties included when the district was created. The district did not provide the four county clerks with the updated boundaries, according to the officials involved. The scale of the error varies by county. Adams County Clerk Josh Zygielbaum said about 275,000 of the roughly 330,000 ballots sent in his county include 7A for voters who are ineligible. Arapahoe County reported 262,868 affected ballots. In Weld County, 16,217 voters in Erie received the measure despite being outside the new boundaries. Douglas County included 7A on ballots sent to all 289,000 voters, although only 5,967 residents in Sterling Ranch are eligible under the revised map. Sal Pace, the rail district’s general manager, accepted responsibility for failing to ensure clerks had the new map, while noting that the law did not explicitly require the district to deliver it. He said he or a staff member should have contacted each clerk to confirm they understood the boundaries, adding, “I’m trying to find solutions here.” County election officials said the district should have provided notice. Zygielbaum said votes cast on 7A by ineligible voters can be excluded from the measure’s results. Arapahoe County Elections Director Bill Mast said his office is waiting for instructions from the Colorado secretary of state on how to count eligible voters’ ballots. He said election observers could watch the process if that is the state’s guidance. The district’s boundaries were also handled differently in El Paso County. Clerk Steve Schleiker said his office used the revised map in Senate Bill 26-172, placing 7A on ballots in Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs but not throughout the county. He said the issue lay with the district. Pace said he found no emails from officials in his inbox. Issue 7A would create a sales tax to fund expanded and more frequent service for Colorado Connector, the planned Front Range passenger rail service, as well as improved stations and extensions toward southern Colorado. Service between Denver and Fort Collins through Boulder is expected to begin in 2029 even if 7A fails. With ballots already printed, the district could withdraw the measure and try again in a future election. Asked whether he would do so, Pace said he had received no direction from the district’s board to remove 7A from the ballot.