Here’s why more than 1,000 of Whatcom primary ballots were rejected
More than 1,000 ballots in the Aug. 4 primary were rejected because they were postmarked too late or the signature on the ballot didn’t match the signature on their voter registration, Whatcom County elections officials said.
It’s disappointing, said Auditor Diana Bradrick, who wishes that voters would use one of the 18 ballot drop boxes around Whatcom County if they cast their ballot after the Saturday before Election Day.
“The only way to ensure a today (Election Day) postmark is to stand in line and ask the postal clerk to hand stamp it,” Bradrick told The Bellingham Herald on Monday, Aug. 17.
And Bradrick said U.S. Postal Service officials have assured Whatcom County’s elections staff that it can handle the increased volume of mail expected on Election Day, Nov. 3.
“We believe that we will receive the same processing times because they give (election materials) priority. It sounds like a huge amount of mail that comes in on Election Day, but for them, that’s business as usual,” Bradrick said.
“The isn’t new because of (news reports) we’re seeing in the U.S. If in fact there were an issue there, we would have heard about it,” she said.
News reports about operational changes at post offices aren’t happening in Bellingham, said USPS spokesman Ernie Swanson in Seattle.
“No sorting machines or mail-collection boxes are being removed from Bellingham,” Swanson told The Herald in an email.
Some 92,436 ballots were cast in Whatcom County for the Aug. 4 primary, a turnout of 61%, according to the Auditor’s Office website.
More than 600 of those ballots arrived with a late postmark and couldn’t be counted for the primary, Elections Supervisor Amy Grasher told The Herald in an email.
More late ballots were waiting to be scanned Monday, Aug. 17, Grasher said.
Nearly 800 other ballots were rejected for several reasons, Grasher said during a Monday, Aug. 17, meeting of the Canvassing Board:
▪ No signature on ballot envelope.
▪ Signature on the ballot didn’t match the registration signature. In cases like this, voters are given a chance to offer an updated signature.
▪ Ballot was marked haphazardly and the voter’s intent wasn’t clear.
Bradrick said this ballot-inspection process — along with random audits of ballot counts — ensures accuracy and protects against fraud.
It’s one way that the Auditor’s Office creates trust in Washington’s vote-by-mail system, a process that has faced criticism from President Trump this election cycle, Bradrick said.
In that Canvassing Board meeting, which was held online with a link available for anyone to watch, challenged ballot signatures were shown on a screen and board members voted whether to accept or reject them.
In other cases, an incorrectly marked ballot was shown — without showing the voter’s name — and board members discussed the voter’s possible intent.
Canvassing Board members were Barry Buchanan, representing the Whatcom County Council, and Karen Frakes of the Prosecutor’s Office. Bradrick casts a deciding vote if necessary.
In a statement issued Monday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said the voting process is secure.
“Mail-in ballots are the easiest, safest, most reliable voting method there is and Washington’s vote-by-mail system is proof of that. Our system has worked well for years without incident, and I am confident it will continue to ensure strong and dependable access to democracy for the people of our state,” he said.
Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman, a Republican, criticized President Trump’s attacks on voting by mail in a statement issued Friday, Aug. 14.
“Politicizing these administrative processes is dangerous and undermines public confidence in our elections,” Wyman said. “Washington voters should know that sending ballot material to millions of voters this fall is a routine operation of the U.S. Postal Service.”
This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
