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4,700 Signatures Don't Match So Far

News   November 6, 2009 at 4:47 pm Erica C. Barnett

With 4,700 ballots rejected by King County Elections because the signatures on the ballots didn’t match the signatures on file, a challenge to those rejections by the losing candidate in the mayor’s race seems inevitable. Any such challenge would take place in King County Superior Court.

In fact, the Mallahan campaign has reportedly been calling voters whose signatures have been challenged and asking them who they voted for (and subsequently encouraging Mallahan voters to contact the county to get their votes validated). Although anecdotal evidence has suggested that more voters’ signatures have failed to match those on file this year than in previous years (because of longtime poll voters whose signatures on file at the county are years or decades out of date, and don’t match their current signatures), King County Elections spokeswoman Megan Coppersmith says the number of ballots being pulled for signature issues is “pretty typical”—around three percent.


  • http://www.worldchanging.com/ Alex

    A real-time searchable index of challenged votes ought to be available to public online as a matter of course.

    C’mon, transparency, people!

  • http://www.worldchanging.com Alex

    A real-time searchable index of challenged votes ought to be available to public online as a matter of course.

    C’mon, transparency, people!

  • Westie

    Erica: What is the deadline for people to rectify their signature issues… there has to be a cutoff date, or is this going to go on until 2010?

  • Westie

    Erica: What is the deadline for people to rectify their signature issues… there has to be a cutoff date, or is this going to go on until 2010?

  • Gidge

    King County has called the people and also mailed them instructions on how to fix the problem. They have a couple of weeks to fix it and make sure their votes are counted.

  • Gidge

    King County has called the people and also mailed them instructions on how to fix the problem. They have a couple of weeks to fix it and make sure their votes are counted.

  • Erica C. Barnett

    @2: The vote will be certified November 23, so folks have until then to correct challenged signatures.

  • Erica C. Barnett

    @2: The vote will be certified November 23, so folks have until then to correct challenged signatures.

  • http://www.worldchanging.com/ Alex

    “King County has called the people and also mailed them instructions on how to fix the problem. They have a couple of weeks to fix it and make sure their votes are counted.”

    Okay, this is still public information, and ought to be available to anyone interested so they can be civic and engaged. Reducing people to passivity (wait for a call or letter) is never okay.

  • jdmoney8

    Where do the signatures on file come from? From Driver’s licenses, voters registrations cards?

  • http://www.worldchanging.com Alex

    “King County has called the people and also mailed them instructions on how to fix the problem. They have a couple of weeks to fix it and make sure their votes are counted.”

    Okay, this is still public information, and ought to be available to anyone interested so they can be civic and engaged. Reducing people to passivity (wait for a call or letter) is never okay.

  • jdmoney8

    Where do the signatures on file come from? From Driver’s licenses, voters registrations cards?

  • kpt

    The signatures come from voter registration cards. I’m one of the ones challenged, as I registered 20 years ago, but only started voting by mail with the primary). You can send in an affadavit with your new signature, a copy of your driver’s license, and a new voter registration form to get it updated. (So, another vote for McGinn coming up when it all goes through.)

  • kpt

    The signatures come from voter registration cards. I’m one of the ones challenged, as I registered 20 years ago, but only started voting by mail with the primary). You can send in an affadavit with your new signature, a copy of your driver’s license, and a new voter registration form to get it updated. (So, another vote for McGinn coming up when it all goes through.)

  • AnotherconcernedSeattleVoter
  • http://Andwhataboutthevandalizedballotdropbox? AnotherconcernedSeattleVoter
  • http://www.kamchatkaproject.org/ Shane

    You can confirm that your signature was verified and that your vote will be counted here:

    https://info.kingcounty.gov/elections/mailballottracking.aspx

  • http://www.kamchatkaproject.org Shane

    You can confirm that your signature was verified and that your vote will be counted here:

    https://info.kingcounty.gov/elections/mailballottracking.aspx

  • Zander

    Peoples’s signatures often change as they age. Many say the youth vote was for McGinn which means the senior vote went for Mallahan. So it is proabably a good place for Joe to dig.

    Even so the math is bad for joe.

    I checked the KC link above. They say they will “credit” me with voting but I’d really rather they said they “counted” my vote.

  • Zander

    Peoples’s signatures often change as they age. Many say the youth vote was for McGinn which means the senior vote went for Mallahan. So it is proabably a good place for Joe to dig.

    Even so the math is bad for joe.

    I checked the KC link above. They say they will “credit” me with voting but I’d really rather they said they “counted” my vote.

  • sarah68

    Is it legal (let alone ethical) for Mallahan’s people to be calling voters to ask who they voted for, in order to urge Mallahan voters to make sure their signatures are accepted? That’s just…creepy.

    And I know quite a few people my age (aka old) and none of them voted for Mallahan. My signature has the same conformation it has for 30 years. Of course, I and my friends are a statistically insignificant group, but we definitely go against Zander’s assumptions.

  • sarah68

    Is it legal (let alone ethical) for Mallahan’s people to be calling voters to ask who they voted for, in order to urge Mallahan voters to make sure their signatures are accepted? That’s just…creepy.

    And I know quite a few people my age (aka old) and none of them voted for Mallahan. My signature has the same conformation it has for 30 years. Of course, I and my friends are a statistically insignificant group, but we definitely go against Zander’s assumptions.

  • NAL

    Is it really that much different from McGinn’s people calling up voters on election night to get them to fill out their ballots and then driving the ballots to a late-night mailbox? It seems both campaigns are doing what they can to eke out every last little vote.

  • NAL

    Is it really that much different from McGinn’s people calling up voters on election night to get them to fill out their ballots and then driving the ballots to a late-night mailbox? It seems both campaigns are doing what they can to eke out every last little vote.

  • Barbara E. Berg

    #12. NAL said: “Is it really that much different from McGinn’s people calling up voters on election night to get them to fill out their ballots and then driving the ballots to a late-night mailbox?”

    From King County Elections (“Lifecycle of a ballot”):

    “Voted ballots must be received at a designated drop box by 8 p.m. on election night, or be postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service by the date of the election.”

    Although I heard Sam Reed say that what the McGinn Campaign did was “improper,” it appears that, in fact, what it did was perfectly proper.

  • http://NA Barbara E. Berg

    #12. NAL said: “Is it really that much different from McGinn’s people calling up voters on election night to get them to fill out their ballots and then driving the ballots to a late-night mailbox?”

    From King County Elections (“Lifecycle of a ballot”):

    “Voted ballots must be received at a designated drop box by 8 p.m. on election night, or be postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service by the date of the election.”

    Although I heard Sam Reed say that what the McGinn Campaign did was “improper,” it appears that, in fact, what it did was perfectly proper.

  • http://letterfiction.blogspot.com/ Gomez

    “Is it legal (let alone ethical) for Mallahan’s people to be calling voters to ask who they voted for, in order to urge Mallahan voters to make sure their signatures are accepted?”

    I don’t know. Is it legal (let alone ethical) for McGinn’s volunteers to be calling voters to ask who they voted for, in order to urge McGinn voters to make sure their signatures are accepted?

  • http://letterfiction.blogspot.com Gomez

    “Is it legal (let alone ethical) for Mallahan’s people to be calling voters to ask who they voted for, in order to urge Mallahan voters to make sure their signatures are accepted?”

    I don’t know. Is it legal (let alone ethical) for McGinn’s volunteers to be calling voters to ask who they voted for, in order to urge McGinn voters to make sure their signatures are accepted?

  • lol

    @11: Correcting challenged ballots in King County provided the margin of victory for Gregoire in 2004. As soon as the Dem State Party got the list, they started calling ID’d supporters that matched.

  • lol

    @11: Correcting challenged ballots in King County provided the margin of victory for Gregoire in 2004. As soon as the Dem State Party got the list, they started calling ID’d supporters that matched.