Concerns over mail-in ballots in Washington
From Ballotpedia
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October 31, 2008
When Washington residents go to sleep on election night, they may have no idea who won local and highly contested races. The reason has to do with the state's almost complete move to voting by mail, and the rules surrounding it. In the 2004 election, 68% of ballots were cast this way, and this year it is expected to just to 88%. This means apparent winners on election night could be losers a day, or even week later, and that could bring endless allegations of fraud.[1]
Concerns
Due to mail-in voting, state officials expect that only half of the votes will be counted on election night, and officials in King County, where 1/3rd of the states voters live, expect only about 40%.
Secretary of State Sam Reed, the state's top elections official said, "It is a less-than-ideal scenario, but that is the way it is in the state of Washington."[1] Reed knows firsthand how apparent winners can become losers. In the 2000 election, he was behind by 12,000 at the end of election night, but ended up winning by 10,000. That, he said, can lead the supporters of those candidate to cry foul.
Voting by mail
Washington has seen a steady increase in votes by mail since 1993, when the Legislature allowed for permanent absentee registration. It increased further in 2005 when a new law allowed counties to have 100% mail-in voting. Of the 39 counties in the state, only two have not adopted this stance - King and Pierce.
Mail-in ballots are valid if they are postmarked by election day. Reed pressed the legislature to adopt a rule that the ballots must be delivered to county elections offices by election day, as Oregon has, but so far Washington has turned that down. That delays the results even longer.
King County expects over 300,000 mail in ballots by election day, with an additional 260,000 after that. Some officials say it will take at least a week to count them.[1]
See also
References
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