After years of conducting elections via mail-in ballots, Whitman County has had repeated problems with getting out proper ballots to citizens ahead of Election Day, but little evidence of voter fraud or other abuse.
Documented cases of voter fraud or impersonation remain exceptionally rare with experts calculating the risk of fraud in vote-by-mail elections at just 0.00004 to 0.00009 percent, ranking voter impersonation less likely than getting struck by lightning.
Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman — a rare state-level Republican and national expert on voting by mail — also issued a statement Thursday reinforcing the integrity and security of mail-in elections.
Whitman County Prosecutor Denis Tracy, who sits on the Canvassing Board that certifies local election results, last fall explained almost all ballot discrepancies — such as double submissions or mixed-up signatures — are simply mistakes.
“Nobody ever intends to vote twice,” he said. “Contrary to myth there’s not a lot of extra voting out there.”
In 2018, Whitman County Watch published an in-depth look at the local ballot handling process. Election officials keep ballots under lock and key, can only handle ballots with multiple people in the room and take law enforcement training on signature comparison to help verify ballot authenticity.
Drop boxes must also be secured and sealed whenever they are emptied. Ballots get scanned and tracked to ensure a consistent count. Election staff also contact voters directly about questionable ballots. Read the story here.
But the Whitman County Elections Office has struggled to get the right ballots to the right voters over the past several years, most often sending ballots for one voting precinct to another, omitting races or having ballot distribution delays.
Election officials had to resend or correct ballots at least seven times between 2013 and 2017 after races were omitted from ballots or ballots were sent to the incorrect precincts. In the 2019 General Election, a typo delayed the mailing of about 1,300 local ballots until just a few days before the election.
When Whitman County Watch later compared the 2019 voter returns, the delayed ballots saw a 15-point drop in turnout — 45 percent of on-time ballots came back while just 30 percent of the delayed ballots were returned.
In previous years, a series of precinct mix-ups or omissions left the Elections office and voters scrambling on a regular basis. Eunice Coker, the county Auditor overseeing local elections at the time, told the Lewiston Tribune the mistakes were not connected.
During the 2015 General Election, a Secretary of State staffer observed Whitman County’s election practices as part of a standard five-year review process. The observer later issued a report, listing some of the county’s better practices as well as a list of problem areas. Read the full report here.
The county had to send out more than 8,000 corrected ballots in that election to address two separate mistakes.
The report alleged election officials also improperly printed a vote tabulation early and defaced ballot envelops by removing unused stamps. The observer also voiced concerns about complacency around securing ballot drop boxes.
Coker responded that the county would address the security concerns and make other changes to improve their practices. (Election staff now collect ballots from drop boxes in pairs, locking and sealing the boxes each time. Ballots are then kept locked up whenever they’re not being actively processed, which can be observed by the public.)
State statistics show Whitman County consistently ranks high in the percentage of questionable ballots rejected by election officials. Local officials rejected about 170 General Election ballots in 2019 and nearly 300 ballots in 2018.
Many votes get disqualified for missing the Election Day deadline while others get rejected for mismatched signatures or other issues.
Transient WSU students moving their voting registrations from county to county can also complicate efforts to maintain accurate voter rolls and validate ballots. The state adopted a new centralized VoteWA system last year to help track voters across county lines, which officials argue will improve voting access as well as security.
Current County Auditor Sandy Jamison said last year the new system simplified registration and provided links to additional information for voters.
“From the voter perspective,” she said, “we’re hoping they’re only going to see positive changes.”
HOW TO MAKE SURE YOUR VOTE GETS COUNTED
VERIFY YOUR REGISTRATION: Check the state’s registration deadlines here to see when and where you can register to vote ahead of any upcoming election. Most online registration must be completed at least a week before an election while in-person registration is now allowed up through Election Day.
If you’ve already registered, you can confirm your address and other registration details at the online VoteWA portal. With VoteWA, you can update your mailing address and access voters guide information for some races.
RETURNING YOUR BALLOT: You should receive a ballot in the mail about 18 days before an election. If you do not, you can print a ballot via VoteWA or contact your local election office for a new ballot. Ballots no longer require a stamp, so they can be mailed back free. Make sure you sign and date the envelop.
For additional security, you can use one of the three ballot drop boxes in the county:
- SE Paradise Street just across from Paradise Creek Brewery in Pullman, WA
- In the alley behind Whitman County Elections Center on Main Street in Colfax
- On the WSU campus, outside the west entrance to the CUB on Glenn Terrell Mall
Election officials warn that mailed ballots must be postmarked by Election Day, so they recommend finding a drop box if you are submitting a ballot in the last day or two of voting.
CHECK YOUR BALLOT STATUS ONLINE: Once you have sent in or dropped off your ballot, you can log into VoteWA to check the status, which will tell you if election staff have processed and accepted your ballot for tabulation. This may take a few days depending on mail turnaround or whether election staff have collected ballots from your drop box.
CURE ANY ISSUES: Election staff should contact you via a letter or phone call if they find problems with your signature or ballot. You can “cure” your ballot by providing an updated signature or providing updated registration information. Election staff usually make multiple attempts to reach voters with ballot issues.
For additional information, you can find the Whitman County Elections website here or call officials at: (509) 397-5284.