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News & ArtsThursday, November 5, 2009
Election Ballot Box Vandalized
Posted by Dominic Holden on Thu, Nov 5, 2009 at 7:03 PM
Here's a statement just issued by King County Elections:
Elections’ staff discovered yesterday that the drive up ballot drop box located at Elections headquarters in Tukwila had been vandalized sometime earlier that morning. As a result, the metal cover plate of the “snorkel,” which is that portion of the drop box at the top of the deposit shoot that is sealed at the conclusion of the election, had been pulled apart from the unit and removed from the site. The drop box still contained 860 ballots sealed in their return envelopes.
So the box "still contained 860 ballots" after the cover was "pulled apart." Yikes. That seems like a security breach. I've called King County Elections officials to ask if ballots may have been stolen, but haven't heard back. I wonder how many ballots were in the other, comparable drop boxes? More than 860? The rest of the announcement appears after the jump.
King County Elections filed a police report on the incident and segregated the ballots for review by the Canvass Board which is the governing body for issuing a determination on such matters.The Canvass Board met today and reviewed the incident, and instructed that the ballots from the impacted drop box be kept separate for the present time and authorized that they proceed through the first stages of ballot processing that includes sorting by legislative district and signature verification. The Canvass Board will determine how to proceed from that point in a future meeting.
King County Elections Director Sherril Huff noted that, “An election is something that belongs to all of us and it’s very sad that anyone would choose to violate an official ballot receptacle, potentially disrupting a process that we all hold dear.”
This is the first incident that anyone at Elections could recall of a drop box being vandalized while an election was underway.
2
Or added. Maybe one of those McGinn volunteers didn't make the post office and decided to get them in anyway...
3
Ok, that's where my ballot was dropped off so I'm not happy. What I want to know is why there were still ballots in there yesterday?
4
why were there still ballots in a drop box the day after the election? Shouldn't the drop boxes have been sealed at 8pm or midnight?
6
I'm concerned that we don't treat ballots with the care they deserve now that we have this all-mail-in voting. In many cases, they're treated with no more care than a bag of first class mail. Now those of us who go to the trouble of dropping our ballots at one of the drop boxes have to worry about them being stolen?
With all the money we're presumably saving by not maintaining in-person polling locations, couldn't we spring for tamper-proof drop boxes and certified mail?
With all the money we're presumably saving by not maintaining in-person polling locations, couldn't we spring for tamper-proof drop boxes and certified mail?
7
Seriously? Elections didn't pick those ballots up and take them to their secured location at 8pm on Tuesday? Man.
9
I don't understand why we're not voting online, at least as an option. Whatever security problems that might have to be overcome, they can't POSSIBLY be worse than having millions of little pieces of paper flying all over the fucking state and being handled by stupid, stupid humans. Fer fuck's sake.
10
Wait? I know people have already said this, but really: What? 860 ballots were sitting around in a drop box yesterday? Huh?
11
Have any of you used the "track your ballot" feature on King County Elections website? My ballot, which I hand-delivered to the Ballard Service Center drop-box well before the end of election day, still hasn't been tagged as "received" (never mind opened, verified, and counted). Embarrassing!!
12
So if they didn't pick them up at 8:00 PM as they sere supposed to, that meant people could keep voting past 8:00. Wonder if this was true of other drop-box locations?
And I wanna know where my damn ballot is, ar it still hasn't been logged in as received.
We need a legally binding SLOG survey of those whose ballots have made it through the system and those whose are in limbo somewhere.
And I wanna know where my damn ballot is, ar it still hasn't been logged in as received.
We need a legally binding SLOG survey of those whose ballots have made it through the system and those whose are in limbo somewhere.
13
This is seriously wrong and careless to say the least.
What the hell are ballots doing in any dropbox after 8 pm on election day?
The fact that this box wasn't checked seems to imply that voters (or a disgruntled campaign) could have stuffed the ballot box after hours.
It also suggests that all ballots aren't being counted as a matter of course (Hey, The race isn't close why count any more ballots; let's call it and go home.)
These sounds almost Republican! Are we in Florida or what?
What the hell are ballots doing in any dropbox after 8 pm on election day?
The fact that this box wasn't checked seems to imply that voters (or a disgruntled campaign) could have stuffed the ballot box after hours.
It also suggests that all ballots aren't being counted as a matter of course (Hey, The race isn't close why count any more ballots; let's call it and go home.)
These sounds almost Republican! Are we in Florida or what?
14
Just to clear some things up: At exactly 8pm on election night, all of the ballot boxes are physically closed by elections staff, and the ballots are then picked up early the next morning. The box is sealed with a metal guard that blocks ballots from being inserted into the "snorkel". It sounds like this was what was vandalized somehow, possibly allowing additional ballots to be inserted. However unless they actually broke off the snorkel itself, it'd be extremely unlikely for anyone to be able to remove ballots that are sitting down at the bottom of the box.
Also, it takes a day or so for the online ballot tracking to be updated with the day's actual ballots processed, so just chill.
Also, it takes a day or so for the online ballot tracking to be updated with the day's actual ballots processed, so just chill.
15
I dropped my ballots into that box about 6:00 p.m. on election night, and the place was teeming with election staff waiting to close it down at 8:00 when the "polls" closed.
WHY ON EARTH WAS THE BOX NOT EMPTIED AT 8:00 P.M.?????? What were all those people doing there if it wasn't to empty the damned box?!
This is more stupid than putting I-1033 at the bottom of the instructions column on the ballot.
We have an ELECTED director of elections, now, and things were supposed to get better? And we're still getting shit like this?
WHY ON EARTH WAS THE BOX NOT EMPTIED AT 8:00 P.M.?????? What were all those people doing there if it wasn't to empty the damned box?!
This is more stupid than putting I-1033 at the bottom of the instructions column on the ballot.
We have an ELECTED director of elections, now, and things were supposed to get better? And we're still getting shit like this?
18
Meggo @14:
@15 is right. It doesn't make it any less scandalous if they were "supposed" to be left there overnight. It was clearly a terrible and stupid policy.
@15 is right. It doesn't make it any less scandalous if they were "supposed" to be left there overnight. It was clearly a terrible and stupid policy.
19
@14: And who cares whether ballots were added or removed? If the final electoral tally is closer than 860, you KNOW someone's going to be suing to have those ballots tossed!
20
@14: I have to say meggo that your explanation really doesn't make me want to chill. In fact, it only aggravates my perception that KC elections has very little clue of how to run an election.
And why the fuck aren't ballots being counted 24/7 with updates at least two or three times a day?
Pardon me, but if I ran the fucking zoo every single ballot box would've been sealed and transported to headquarters at precisely 8:00 PM. And there would be enough staff on hand so that beginning at 8:00 PM on election night ballot counting would start and it would not stop until every ballot was counted.
And why the fuck aren't ballots being counted 24/7 with updates at least two or three times a day?
Pardon me, but if I ran the fucking zoo every single ballot box would've been sealed and transported to headquarters at precisely 8:00 PM. And there would be enough staff on hand so that beginning at 8:00 PM on election night ballot counting would start and it would not stop until every ballot was counted.
21
Meggo @14,
Okay, sure. I get that it might take a few days to get caught up with the online tracking thing. I can live with that.
But if there were a bunch of election people standing around at 8:00 to seal the box, why not just empty the fucking thing and bring the ballots inside someplace secure? Lame.
Okay, sure. I get that it might take a few days to get caught up with the online tracking thing. I can live with that.
But if there were a bunch of election people standing around at 8:00 to seal the box, why not just empty the fucking thing and bring the ballots inside someplace secure? Lame.
22
#14 & #15:
Thank for the additional info. However, this insight only raises serious additional questions.
It's inexcusable for ballots to be left unattended overnight after election day. When voting ends, ballots should be picked up and secured just like a polling station. This is a BASIC internal control. Clearly the county ballot drop boxes' have inadequate security to prevent after-hours voting or tampering, physically and theoretically.
Also, how often are these ballot boxes checked and emptied over the several days of permitted voting? It would be easy to pour any foul liquid (paint, coffee, vomit, urine, or any thing disgusting) into the "snorkel" which could leak and damage ballots, especially the relatively exposed voter signature panel.
I'm stunned and outraged that the King County election process is so poorly executed and ignorantly designed. Further, the only news coverage I've seen on this story has been limited to online versions of KOMO and the PI. As casual as the King County Election Board seem to be, I shudder to think about the lax episodes we haven't heard about.
I'm mad as Mallahan should be at this injustice. Let's just add a couple of costly election lawsuits to the county deficit. This kind of King County incompetence makes me want to change my vote to Susan Hutchinson!
Without further explanation from the county, I'm not sure we'll ever know who really won the Seattle mayor's race or if R-71 actually passed. Do we want to give the right wing any doubt as to the validity of this vital rights measure passing? No wonder the GOP is always complaining about voter fraud.
Thank for the additional info. However, this insight only raises serious additional questions.
It's inexcusable for ballots to be left unattended overnight after election day. When voting ends, ballots should be picked up and secured just like a polling station. This is a BASIC internal control. Clearly the county ballot drop boxes' have inadequate security to prevent after-hours voting or tampering, physically and theoretically.
Also, how often are these ballot boxes checked and emptied over the several days of permitted voting? It would be easy to pour any foul liquid (paint, coffee, vomit, urine, or any thing disgusting) into the "snorkel" which could leak and damage ballots, especially the relatively exposed voter signature panel.
I'm stunned and outraged that the King County election process is so poorly executed and ignorantly designed. Further, the only news coverage I've seen on this story has been limited to online versions of KOMO and the PI. As casual as the King County Election Board seem to be, I shudder to think about the lax episodes we haven't heard about.
I'm mad as Mallahan should be at this injustice. Let's just add a couple of costly election lawsuits to the county deficit. This kind of King County incompetence makes me want to change my vote to Susan Hutchinson!
Without further explanation from the county, I'm not sure we'll ever know who really won the Seattle mayor's race or if R-71 actually passed. Do we want to give the right wing any doubt as to the validity of this vital rights measure passing? No wonder the GOP is always complaining about voter fraud.
23
@20
Why aren't ballots being counted 24/7 and all boxes picked up immediately? Yeah, because KC is totally flush with money right now, they can totally afford overtime and to hire extra workers for this.
They figured out the cheapest way to fit it into 8 hour workdays with their normal staffing, and that's how it's gonna continue. Poll workers lock the boxes and set them out to be collected; someone makes the rounds the next morning and picks 'em up.
You wanted cheap government, you got cheap government.
Why aren't ballots being counted 24/7 and all boxes picked up immediately? Yeah, because KC is totally flush with money right now, they can totally afford overtime and to hire extra workers for this.
They figured out the cheapest way to fit it into 8 hour workdays with their normal staffing, and that's how it's gonna continue. Poll workers lock the boxes and set them out to be collected; someone makes the rounds the next morning and picks 'em up.
You wanted cheap government, you got cheap government.
24
@23
If King County can't get something this easy correct, they should just save the money (sparing us possible lawsuits and ridicule) by mandating all mail-in voting.
Securing and counting all valid ballots is just American, unless you live in Florida, Ohio, or King County, Washington.
If King County can't get something this easy correct, they should just save the money (sparing us possible lawsuits and ridicule) by mandating all mail-in voting.
Securing and counting all valid ballots is just American, unless you live in Florida, Ohio, or King County, Washington.
25
@23 has a point. Every basic function of government has become a nickel-and-dime-on-the-sales-tax proposition. Until we junk our ridiculous and regressive tax structure (replacing sales with income taxes), we'll be looking at every incident like this in hindsight.
26
"How do I know my ballot is secure?
"Ballots are collected regularly from each drop box by King County Elections. Two official elections workers will use a chain of custody process to transport all ballots.
"Ballot packets are delivered to the Elections facility where they are processed with other returned mail ballots. The signature on every ballot is checked against the voter’s registration file and if it matches, the ballot moves forward."
(from http://www.kingcounty.gov/elections/voti…)
"Ballots are collected regularly from each drop box by King County Elections. Two official elections workers will use a chain of custody process to transport all ballots.
"Ballot packets are delivered to the Elections facility where they are processed with other returned mail ballots. The signature on every ballot is checked against the voter’s registration file and if it matches, the ballot moves forward."
(from http://www.kingcounty.gov/elections/voti…)
27
@23: you shot that argument at exactly the wrong person. I have actively, vocally and financially opposed every single Eyeman initiative (and other idiocies long before him.) A simple search here on Slog will show you that.
What I want here is total integrity of the electoral process (and speed damnit!!!), and it is incumbent on KC elections to make that case. Fucking up doesn't prove your case. Going ahead and authorizing resources (no matter what the cost) does and forces other electeds to deal with the issue immediately.
What I want here is total integrity of the electoral process (and speed damnit!!!), and it is incumbent on KC elections to make that case. Fucking up doesn't prove your case. Going ahead and authorizing resources (no matter what the cost) does and forces other electeds to deal with the issue immediately.
28
I'm laughing at @15's suggestion that going to an elected elections official should or would make things better. It makes things worse. It was always going to. On simple administrative jobs, electing them makes them less accountable, not more.
29
@4 for the win.
It's almost as if someone didn't realize having a lot of contentious races in our county might mean lots of people might vote.
It's almost as if someone didn't realize having a lot of contentious races in our county might mean lots of people might vote.
30
at this point we know the following:
1. The 1033 ballot count is 20,000 votes LOWER in this county than one would expect compared to other counties, due to ballot design.
2. Ballots were not collected in a prompt and secure manner, nor were facilities for said collection points properly handled.
1. The 1033 ballot count is 20,000 votes LOWER in this county than one would expect compared to other counties, due to ballot design.
2. Ballots were not collected in a prompt and secure manner, nor were facilities for said collection points properly handled.
31
Fnarf @28 is dead on. The move to make the elections director an elected position was utterly idiotic (and driven by small-government!! save money!! lunacy) and the outcome is/was predictable.
33
I went down to King County Elections yesterday and watched the counting. It is an impressive operation that they run. When we arrived we were greeted personally by King County Elections director Sheryl Huff. The entire operation was very efficient and had lots of protections to make sure the ballots were counted accurately.
It was stupid to leave the ballots in the drop boxes overnight. But the staff has been working on much bigger problems than one or two people breaking a sealed box and adding their ballots.
It was stupid to leave the ballots in the drop boxes overnight. But the staff has been working on much bigger problems than one or two people breaking a sealed box and adding their ballots.
34
Appreciate the upbeat tone Dr Jeff but, really? You were personally greeted by Huff? Wouldn't you expect her to be managing the operation?
Also, if, as you state, there are bigger problems than ballot box vandalism, I'd like to know what they are?
Also, if, as you state, there are bigger problems than ballot box vandalism, I'd like to know what they are?
35
14 drop boxes around the county. 8pm. ELECTION HEADQUARTERS!
There was nobody at election headquarters to bring in the ballots at 8pm, Tuesday night?
County had no staff to pick up ballots from 14 drop boxes?
Are there 14 sheriff deputies?
This is just so stupid. And since any voter might have used a box anywhere in the county, chances are that this box in Tukwila held at least a few Seattle Mayoral ballots.
Are we ready for a defaulted election if the winning margin is in the low hundreds?
There was nobody at election headquarters to bring in the ballots at 8pm, Tuesday night?
County had no staff to pick up ballots from 14 drop boxes?
Are there 14 sheriff deputies?
This is just so stupid. And since any voter might have used a box anywhere in the county, chances are that this box in Tukwila held at least a few Seattle Mayoral ballots.
Are we ready for a defaulted election if the winning margin is in the low hundreds?
36
I am not sure what the big issue is here. At the very WORST, a few ballots were added after the deadline. This is not terrible, this is GOOD. Not to say that it should have been vandalized (that was wrong) but the net outcome of all of this is MORE people voting. Isn't that a good thing? But I agree that they should have been removed promptly at 8 pm. All the right wing trolls claiming stolen elections because MAYBE a few people voted past the deadline? That is pure hooey.
38
@36
Those 860 ballots have been quarantined and may not be counted - and these votes could determine the mayoral race.
The whole poorly planned voting process, in WA's most populated county, casts doubt on the the accuracy, if not legitimacy, of the entire election.
Those 860 ballots have been quarantined and may not be counted - and these votes could determine the mayoral race.
The whole poorly planned voting process, in WA's most populated county, casts doubt on the the accuracy, if not legitimacy, of the entire election.
39
OK. Metal plate cover, not snorkel, was removed. I imagined a big hole in the drop box, chance of stolen ballots, etc. My poor reading.
Still. Seems dumb to leave them out all night.
Still. Seems dumb to leave them out all night.
40
Hey, Tim Eyman, want to actually make yourself useful?*
Now that we vote by mail statewide, let's see an initiative to:
(A) Require all counties to use postage paid return envelopes for ballots, and
(B) Require the contents of ballot boxes be emptied within an hour of the close of polling on election day.
Can you do that for us, Herr Eyman?!?*
(* I know the answer to this is "no", but anyway...)
Now that we vote by mail statewide, let's see an initiative to:
(A) Require all counties to use postage paid return envelopes for ballots, and
(B) Require the contents of ballot boxes be emptied within an hour of the close of polling on election day.
Can you do that for us, Herr Eyman?!?*
(* I know the answer to this is "no", but anyway...)
41
Um...all you outraged Mallahan fans who are contemplating lawsuits on his behalf, should the tally not be in his favor: please learn to read---the WHOLE story. In what universe do people in Tukwila---or Shoreline, or Bothell, or any other SUBURB of the City of Seattle---vote in Seattle's mayoral election? Lots of cities that voted in the King County election submitted ballots that DO NOT include an entry to vote for Seattle mayor.
Yeah, this is not great practice. But I think poster #23 got it right: You want cheap government, you get what you pay for. Not much point in imploring Mr. Eyman to straighten this out, as his one-size-fits-all solution is to cut taxes so he doesn't have to pay license tabs on his new Camry, and cut services that would have been paid for by said taxes. Greedy, egotistical, irresponsible, short-sighted, self-centered cheapskate. We just had 8 years of that in the White House. You want MORE? (I know, #40, it was a sarcastic comment. I'm just sick and tired of hearing from that horse's ass every election year and needed to vent.;-)
As for the person who wanted to retroactively vote for "Hutchinson" [sic], so that SHE could fix this problem, yeah, that's a great idea. She can call Charles Simonyi and ask him to write a big check to solve the problem. That's what she does best---it's her current job description: giving away money. Great qualification for county government! Alternatively, we can all pray really, REALLY hard, because that's how she thinks God makes things happen: as a response to prayer from fundamentalists. Not anyone else---just the ones who believe in her particular interpretation of the Bible. Which, according to her non-campaign speeches (i.e., the ones where she was not lying her photogenic head off about being liberal, nonpartisan, nonwacko, and extremely qualified), she is not just willing but eager to shove down all our throats, should we be naive enough to elect her to any post more important than Dog Catcher.
King County is the 14th largest county IN THE NATION, not just the biggest one in the state. Of course they're going to have more problems handling elections than, say, Spokane County. Or "Podunk, Ohio"---which, if I might remind critics of the mail-in system, had a few glitches of its own in its computer voting during the 2004 presidential election. Resulting in 4 more years of the above-referenced evil empire. Yay! At least the mail-in system provides a paper trail, unlike the easily hacked computer version.
C'mon, people---why not harness all that self-righteous indignation and channel it into volunteering for a REAL cause, not just shooting off your mouth? If you get up off your indolent behinds, it will probably increase the blood flow to the part of your body you seem to be thinking with, and that could only be an improvement. Quit criticizing the hardworking, probably underpaid employees (can you say "mandatory furloughs"?) who do the best they can with the meager resources allocated, and try fixing a problem in your own neighborhood. Or home. You'll quickly find that it's not as easy as it sounds.
I'm signing off from Seattle and going back to trying to persuade legislators to fix the damn health care system. And get out of Iraq. I recommend you-all do the same.
More...
Yeah, this is not great practice. But I think poster #23 got it right: You want cheap government, you get what you pay for. Not much point in imploring Mr. Eyman to straighten this out, as his one-size-fits-all solution is to cut taxes so he doesn't have to pay license tabs on his new Camry, and cut services that would have been paid for by said taxes. Greedy, egotistical, irresponsible, short-sighted, self-centered cheapskate. We just had 8 years of that in the White House. You want MORE? (I know, #40, it was a sarcastic comment. I'm just sick and tired of hearing from that horse's ass every election year and needed to vent.;-)
As for the person who wanted to retroactively vote for "Hutchinson" [sic], so that SHE could fix this problem, yeah, that's a great idea. She can call Charles Simonyi and ask him to write a big check to solve the problem. That's what she does best---it's her current job description: giving away money. Great qualification for county government! Alternatively, we can all pray really, REALLY hard, because that's how she thinks God makes things happen: as a response to prayer from fundamentalists. Not anyone else---just the ones who believe in her particular interpretation of the Bible. Which, according to her non-campaign speeches (i.e., the ones where she was not lying her photogenic head off about being liberal, nonpartisan, nonwacko, and extremely qualified), she is not just willing but eager to shove down all our throats, should we be naive enough to elect her to any post more important than Dog Catcher.
King County is the 14th largest county IN THE NATION, not just the biggest one in the state. Of course they're going to have more problems handling elections than, say, Spokane County. Or "Podunk, Ohio"---which, if I might remind critics of the mail-in system, had a few glitches of its own in its computer voting during the 2004 presidential election. Resulting in 4 more years of the above-referenced evil empire. Yay! At least the mail-in system provides a paper trail, unlike the easily hacked computer version.
C'mon, people---why not harness all that self-righteous indignation and channel it into volunteering for a REAL cause, not just shooting off your mouth? If you get up off your indolent behinds, it will probably increase the blood flow to the part of your body you seem to be thinking with, and that could only be an improvement. Quit criticizing the hardworking, probably underpaid employees (can you say "mandatory furloughs"?) who do the best they can with the meager resources allocated, and try fixing a problem in your own neighborhood. Or home. You'll quickly find that it's not as easy as it sounds.
I'm signing off from Seattle and going back to trying to persuade legislators to fix the damn health care system. And get out of Iraq. I recommend you-all do the same.
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