ELECTION 2020: Your ballot’s in the mail

As noted previously, today was the day King County Elections mailed ballots – 1.4 million of them, to be specific – so yours might arrive as soon as tomorrow. They’re projecting 90 percent turnout, which would be a record, passing the existing record of 85 percent turnout in 2012. An overview of the local ballot:

Featuring an 18-inch ballot, this year’s election is comprised of 64 races, including a total of 118 federal and state candidates. There are 22 measures, with 16 local and six state. Included are state, county, city, school and special purpose district measures.

West Seattle voters will be asked to vote on:

President
U.S. House District 7
6 state measures including Referendum 90 (sex education)
Governor
Lt. Governor
Secretary of State
State Treasurer
State Auditor
State Attorney General
State Commissioner of Public Lands
State Superintendent of Public Instruction
State Insurance Commissioner
34th District State House Position 1
34th District State House Position 2
4 State Supreme Court positions
8 county measures including #5, changing the sheriff from elected to appointed, and Prop. 1, property tax for Harborview Medical Center
2 Court of Appeals positions
2 King County Superior Court judgeships
1 city measure, .15% sales tax to pay for transit

You can preview your ballot, including links to candidate and ballot-measure info, by going here. Here’s what else the county wants you to know:

Voters who do not receive a ballot by Mon., Oct. 19, or who have questions should call King County Elections at 206-296-VOTE (8683). Ballots must be postmarked by Election Day, Nov. 3, or returned to one of the 73 ballot drop box locations across the county. Drop boxes are open 24-hours, seven days a week until 8 p.m. on Election Day. Ballots can be returned at any time before the deadline – but the earlier, the better.

The deadline to register to vote online is Oct. 26. Voters can register and vote through 8 p.m. on Election Day at any of KCE’s Vote Center locations around King County.

The drop boxes open tomorrow; all the locations are here, including three in West Seattle and one each in nearby South Park and White Center.

Sillygoose October 15, 2020 (7:48 am)

Curious with most stating vote early, are these ballot drop boxes emptied multiple times before election night?

WSB October 15, 2020 (8:03 am)

Yes.
- West Seattle Mad Sci Guy October 15, 2020 (9:44 am)
  
  Oracle of wisdom – are the ballots opened before election night? Or if not opened, do they verify the signatures on the outside before election night? I’d imagine that takes a long time.
  - WSB October 15, 2020 (11:11 am)
    
    What’s received before election day is processed along the way – that’s why they are able to release a set of results at 8:15 pm. The signature verification happens along the way too – that’s how you can check the online ballot tracker and know that they’ve received your ballot (or not).They’re pretty rigid about the signature thing – my ballot was tossed out one year because I carelessly signed illegibly and never took the time to follow up on the options given for remedying the problem. – TR

Vote No October 15, 2020 (9:05 am)

Another property tax increase up for a vote, surprise surprise.

Harborview needs funding, I get it.

But if you vote “yes” your mortgage payment goes up & YOUR RENT will go up (your landlord will pass the increase to you!).

Just another reason why living in Seattle/King County continues to be unaffordable for many families.

Stop with the property tax increases, we get enough of that thru appreciation/appraisals. There are better ways to fund these projects without increasing our mortgage or monthly rent payments.

Heartless? October 15, 2020 (12:37 pm)

How do they verify the signatures? I could easily submit ballots for everyone in my household! A very in-exact “security” measure if you ask me.

WSB October 15, 2020 (12:53 pm)

They compare to what they have on record.
Details: https://kuow.org/stories/how-king-county-elections-verifies-your-signature-or-smiley-face/
- Heartless? October 15, 2020 (3:09 pm)
  
  My BS detector went off when I read this article. Sounds OK in theory, but from a practical viewpoint, not so much. As I said earlier, very in-exact and rather subjective. The “old way” of presenting a valid photo ID with a signature, and then the ballot worker looking back and forth at you and your photo, AND comparing your signature with the signature on your ID (“in-person voting) seems MUCH more secure.But I know we’ve been over this before ad-nauseum. I just have to say something every time because I feel so strongly about it. My apologies to everyone!
  - AMD October 15, 2020 (4:35 pm)
    
    Anecdotally, my husband’s signature (and ballot) were rejected three elections in a row because his signature had just gotten lazy over time and no longer resembled the one on file (it took him three elections to actually follow the instructions for verifying his identity and getting an updated signature on file). The signature-check seems pretty rigid, imo. I can also say that my experience having my identity checked via picture ID (when paying with credit cards) is that *maybe* every 20th person actually checks both your name and your picture against the ID you hand them. Because it’s something done over and over throughout the day, it becomes almost muscle memory to grab the ID, “look” at it, superficially scan for information, and hand it back. Having no reason to believe poll workers would be any better at checking your ID than the average person working at Target, I’ll say that method isn’t as iron-clad as it sounds either. At least computers don’t get tired of comparing data after a couple hours.
  - Peter October 15, 2020 (4:38 pm)
    
    Cool story, bro. No, that is not what the process was before all mail in voting. You only needed to show your voter registration card, which did not include a photo or signature, and there was no signature in voting records before we switched to all mail in election. Our current system has more checks and more security than the pre-mail in days.
  - CAM October 15, 2020 (4:46 pm)
    
    Did Washington previously have a voter ID law that required photo identification? Coming from another blue state that is more conservative in general than WA, I’m surprised to hear that. I’ve never in my life had to present photo ID to vote, even when I briefly lived in TX. I did used to have to present a printed voter ID card with my signature on it but no one ever asked for ID, nor were they allowed to. This coming from the proud child of an annual polling place worker/volunteer.
    - Heartless? October 15, 2020 (5:41 pm)
      
      Cam-I suppose I could be mis-remembering, but it seems we were required to show a drivers license. This in Arbor Heights, say 1993-2015 ????? The polling worker would then match you up against the precinct records.
    - DH October 16, 2020 (6:44 am)
      
      I moved to Arbor Heights in 1996 and voted there before I moved to other parts of the south end of West Seattle. Washington did not require a photo ID to vote in person just your Voters Registration card.
  - MrsT October 15, 2020 (4:55 pm)
    
    There is no way you would get away with that. One year I decided to write my lower case a differently and that same year my ballot got flagged. I was contacted immediately and given the opportunity to remedy it. I have high confidnce in the security of the election despite current narratives.

payattention October 15, 2020 (1:11 pm)

Got my ballot today-Alki Homestead area. Filled it out and mailed at the post office.

payattention October 15, 2020 (4:57 pm)

Heartless. With scammers getting so good how EXACTLY would you stop someone with fake id voting in person. With all the id theft they not only have all your info but probably have a copy of some ones signature.

Heartless? October 15, 2020 (5:52 pm)

PayAttention,I would argue that its easier to fake a signature that’s probably briefly glanced at (at best), than to present a fake ID that would pass scrutiny. I know we would never catch ALL fake IDs, but its a matter of numbers….there will be more forged signatures than faked IDs, because its so much easier to do. But wouldn’t it be nice if we never had to worry about cheating at all ? Pipe dream!

Sorry, comment time is over.