Everett, Wash. Published: Thursday, October 2, 2008
HERALD ENDORSEMENTS
Retain capable Reed as secretary of state
The 2004 governor's race put Washington's elections process under a microscope -- one that at times was decidedly unflattering.
To be precise, Washington actually has elections processes, with different counties using different voting methods, ballot styles and tabulation machines. The secretary of state, as the state's chief elections officer, is responsible for overseeing those disparate processes and ensuring their integrity.
In that role, we believe Republican Sam Reed, who is seeking a third term as secretary of state, has done an excellent job -- especially in leading reforms to boost the integrity of state elections and voter confidence in them. For that, as well as his work launching the statewide voter-registration database, defending the voter-approved top-two primary and getting a state Heritage Center approved, we strongly endorse his re-election.
Reed's challenger is Democrat Jason Osgood, a computer programmer and King County elections watchdog who is making his first run for public office (outside of being a precinct committee officer). Among other things, Osgood charges that Reed has allowed barcodes on ballots that Osgood says can be used to show how a particular person voted, and says Reed was wrong to push for moving the primary election from mid-September to mid-August.
On the barcode question, Reed answers that it's all about tracking ballots to make sure every ballot cast is counted. That's how it works in Snohomish County, where Auditor Carolyn Weikel confirms that ballot barcodes don't contain information necessary to link a ballot to a particular voter -- just to data like the precinct it's from. Reed says the addition of barcodes will help prevent problems like King County had in 2004, when the number of ballots received and the number counted couldn't be reconciled.
As for moving the primary to the third Tuesday in August, Reed and county auditors argued that it was necessary to ensure ample time to prepare and mail ballots overseas for the general election. The move to mail balloting, which has ballots continuing to trickle in days after the election, and the recent experience with recounts in close races emphasizes that need. Osgood says having the primary shortly after Labor Day would be early enough, but we have doubts about that. We also think that mail ballots give voters, even those who vacation in August, ample time to fill out their primary ballot.
