SEATTLE – Ballots found in a vandalized drop box could are creating new questions for the King County Elections Department, which has been dogged by controversy in recent years.
The ballots, about 860 of them, were found sometime Wednesday morning in a drop box at elections headquarters in Tukwila.
On Tuesday night at 8 p.m., elections workers placed a locking mechanism on the drop box, with the intent on collecting the ballots the next morning. But sometime between 12:30 and 5:30 a.m., someone ripped the lock off with considerable force.
For now, the ballots are being processed to the point of signature verification, then set aside. Elections officials say there is no way to tell how many of them were placed in the box after the deadline.
This may ultimately have an impact in the race for Seattle Mayor. As of Friday afternoon, Mike McGinn had a 1,209 vote lead over Joe Mallahan. If that lead holds, these ballots won't make a difference. It's also not clear how many of the ballots are from Seattle.
In a statement, the McGinn campaign said, "We are concerned about the ballots, but the drop box was not in the city of Seattle and we don't see any reason to comment on it."
The Mallahan camp says it's a shame anybody would take the voting process so lightly and possibly jeopardize the process. They say they have confidence the elections department will handle these ballots in an appropriate manner.
That will be up to a three-member canvassing board set to meet next Tuesday.
It's an election headache at a department familiar with pain. The 2004 gubernatorial election was a mess, to the point that it required two recounts. It was all muddied by boxes of ballots found in backrooms, legal challenges of specific ballot batches and finally a showdown in a Wenatchee courtroom that essentially decided the election in Christine Gregoire's favor.
drysider said on November 6, 2009 at 1:21 PM
Ballots set aside just in case they were needed to turn around the results?
drysider said on November 6, 2009 at 1:24 PM
Ballot set aside just in case they were needed to change the outcome?
l39pilot09 said on November 6, 2009 at 2:39 PM
Great....another 2004 Election moment :P
billiameveryman said on November 6, 2009 at 2:41 PM
Oh good! More Washington vote treachery is afoot...
mcomfort said on November 6, 2009 at 3:57 PM
Only a government agency could explain why they would make the effort to seal the box and still leave the ballots. If you are at the box, why don't you pick up the ballots? Talk about a duplication of effort!
klondiko said on November 6, 2009 at 4:16 PM
I tougt this kind of stuff only happened in places like Afghanistan.
pixelater said on November 6, 2009 at 4:51 PM
WHAT? SAY IT AIN'T SO. How could this be? No way, No How. Really, if you didn't see this coming your head most be in the sand. It is an election people, your choices are shoot yourself in the left foot or shoot yourself in the right foot. The results are the same, your screwed!
seattlevoter said on November 6, 2009 at 5:27 PM
Another occurrence of management incompetence. This is fact, not an allegation. The workers know what to do, but are always countermanded by their supervisors. This was told to me by people who work there and want to do a good job, but are always overruled by their bosses.
uplink said on November 6, 2009 at 5:54 PM
Yeah, funny how this happens. I am kind of wondering why the ref71 has not been updated since Nov 04, 2009 - 17:39:17. Maybe it was going the wrong way for the counters and they need to make some new ballots so it will pass.
factoid said on November 6, 2009 at 7:56 PM
Reading the comments, I guess I am not the only one that thinks the Government is utterly incompetent at just about every task. Throw in a little corruption and I think it is time to start over. Top to bottom house cleaning, I say.
guynoirprivatei said on November 6, 2009 at 9:49 PM
Mail voting SUCKS! the ballots ARE NOT SECURE(D) like they are when ppl fill them out in precincts... In KingCo, the results were transmitted electronically (Results SOONER), and the actual ballots were usually subject to less handling... With mail voting, the signatures have to be verified in a central location, etc. etc. with mail-in, the ballots can easily become lost/misplaced; IMHO, voting should all be done THE SAME DAY, except in cases of serious sickness or unavoidable absence. Polling places Could be set up & accessed near where ppl work, etc.
guynoirprivatei said on November 6, 2009 at 9:52 PM
Vote by mail SUCKS! Voting should be done on the same day. Vote by mail is Much Slower to get results, requires a lot more handling. IMHO, going to a neighborhood polling place is an excellent commuinty activity, a (short) chance to rub shoulders with neighbors. Mail-in ballots can be lost/misplaces/mishandled, as this story demonstrates!
jcblvu said on November 7, 2009 at 10:49 AM
Couldn't this all have been avoided had they actually picked up the ballots that were in the box at 8 P.M. instead of just "securing it" with the intent of picking them up the next morning? How stupid can the Elections Office be?
dlp2155 said on November 7, 2009 at 11:25 AM
Said to A.C.O.R.N. workers,"Where were you on the night of Nov. 3rd, after the hours of 11 pm?? Tukwila, perhaps" !