Letter: SAVE Act would complicate vote in Washington state

Published 1:30 am Sunday, March 15, 2026

I am very worried about elections in Washington if the SAVE Act passes. The act abolishes the method Washington voters have cast their ballots since 2011, vote by mail.

We will have fewer than eight months to purchase thousands of voting machines, train election employees in their use and maintenance, purchase tabulation machines to count the votes from the new machines, train the people to operate and maintain the tabulation machines, make arrangements with potential polling site owners to set up polling stations on their property and train election workers to administer voting at these sites.

Voting around the country would be challenging with the ID requirements the Act imposes on registration and voting. In Washington, we would also have to rebuild the entire election infrastructure.

It would be chaotic.

Melissa C. Batson

Monroe