Making Every Vote Count

by Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles

“The right of voting for representatives is the primary right by which other rights are protected. To take away this right is to reduce man to slavery, for slavery consists in being subject to the will of another, and he that has not a vote in the election of representatives is in this case.”

Thomas Paine, “Dissertation on First Principles of Government,” 1795

"It's not the voting that's democracy; it's the counting."

Dramatist Tom Stoppard, “Jumpers,” 1972

More than 200 years ago, our forefathers cherished the right to vote. And with the whisper-thin margin that decided the governor’s race last year, making sure that every vote counts is critical.

Our elections system is complicated and expensive, but, fortunately, overall works well. There is still room for improvement, as events in the 36th Legislative District late last year reminded us.

When Republicans challenged the legitimacy of votes cast by longtime voters — and residents — on the basis of addresses, two points became clear: that the process and the timing for filing challenges need to be retooled.

In this instance, almost 2,000 challenges were filed, although some were later withdrawn. The residents of the Watermarke apartment building in Belltown were mistakenly targeted, as was later conceded. In addition, a sizable number of those contacted were liveaboards in the Shilshole Marina and never had trouble voting before. Others used business addresses or private mail boxes, also with no earlier problems. Yet some who received the notices were afraid to vote, thinking that they could be found guilty of fraud – or were so angry they decided they wouldn’t vote at all.

If the notification that votes might not count weren’t upsetting enough, there was the issue of timing. Voters received these letters just a few days before the election, causing recipients to scramble to sort matters out. Those who were not available to call the elections office or attend a Canvassing Board hearing were out of luck.

But others had help. Kudos to the 36th District Democrats for conducting their own canvass to assess the legitimacy of the challenges and for notifying challenged voters that they should cast ballots. One 16-year Watermarke resident couldn’t believe that her vote was being challenged. Another said it took her twice as long to cast her ballot because of hang ups at her polling place, even though she had done nothing wrong.

It’s bad public policy to allow challenges that question the legitimacy of someone’s vote two weeks before an election, much less five days, as happened with a number of those challenged. If there are problems, they must be addressed in a way that doesn’t intimidate or impede a registered voter from voting.

So I’ve introduced Senate Bill 6362 to tighten up the process and schedule for filing election challenges, and clarify the issue of addresses by allowing voters to register based on their actual residence. The substitute bill, reported out of the Senate Government Operations & Elections Committee last week, would specifically list voters who reside in marinas, parks, motor homes and shelters as lacking traditional addresses. No one should be denied the right to vote because he or she is in transitional housing or lives onboard a boat.

The bill also would change the timeline for making challenges so that voters are given sufficient time to respond. Voters who registered more than 60 days before an election may be challenged up to 45 days before the election. Voters who registered less than 60 days before the election may be challenged up to 10 days before. Right now, a voter can be challenged up to the day before an election. If that’s not intimidation, I don’t know what is.

If a challenge is filed before the ballot is received, my bill would require that ballot to be treated as a challenged ballot. If the challenge is filed after the ballot is received, the ballot would be counted. This way, the challenge would not affect the outcome of that election.

Presently, the deadline for a challenged voter to correct or re-register is three days before the election. I believe we need to give a voter the fullest possible opportunity to exercise his or her franchise, so my bill would move the deadline up to the day before the election.

Currently, if a challenge to a ballot is sustained, the ballot is not counted. Period. I think this is over-reaching. I propose that ballots not be counted if the challenge is based on a felony conviction, age, citizenship or mental incapacity and it is sustained. But if the challenge is based on residency and is sustained, the voter should be able to update the registration, and any races or measures on the ballot that the voter could have voted on had the address been correct would be counted.

In the case last November, challenges were filed based on the voter being registered at an address that was not a valid residence and was not a location at which the voter could have lived for 30 days prior to the election. My measure would permit residential challenges based on the belief that the voter does not live at the address listed when the challenger provides the challenged voter’s actual address, or on the belief that the residential address provided isn’t an actual residence. In this case, the challenger must submit evidence that due diligence was exercised to personally verify that the address in question is not a residence, including a site visit, phone directory and/or property rights search.

I am thoroughly committed to ensuring that our elections process is fair. Every legitimate vote should count, and conversely, illegitimate votes should not count. But to allow the continuation of practices that scare voters away is undemocratic.

Sen. Kohl-Welles serves as chair of the Senate Labor, Commerce, Research & Labor Committee. She is a member of the Senate Early Learning, K-12 and Higher Education; Ways & Means; and Rules committees.

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