A mix-up at the Wareham Town Clerk's office temporarily inactivated approximately 5,000 voters in Wareham, according to the Secretary of State's Office.

"It was a mix-up," said Brian McNiff, spokesman for the Secretary of State's Office. “Everybody who showed up to vote did get to vote" in today's state primary, he said.

Voters are inactivated when they do not respond to a yearly census sent to their address, or when they do not vote in two consecutive state elections, McNiff said. State elections occur every two years.

The approximately 5,000 voters were not properly notified before being inactivated, McNiff said.

It is not currently clear how many of the voters who were inactivated actually meet the criteria to be taken off the list, McNiff said.

Some may be required to be inactivated, and some may not, but the Secretary of State's Office is currently looking into the matter and should have an answer by next week, McNiff said.

If a voter is inactive and shows up to the polls, he or she is asked to show identification and sign an affidavit before being allowed to vote, McNiff said.

There will not be any problems for the November election, McNiff added. “It'll be straightened out by November,” he said.

A call to the Wareham Town Clerk's Office was referred to the Secretary of State's Office.

Polls for today's state primary close at 8 p.m. Stay tuned to WarehamVillageSoup.com for the results of the election.