LAKE STEVENS — Some voters have been telling Shaelynn Charvet Bates that they are confused.
They’ve received two purple and white envelopes in the mail for the Feb. 14 election. Both were labeled as containing their official ballot. The first one had a ballot and a voters pamphlet — only the information in the pamphlet didn’t go with the measures on their ballot. The second envelope had a pamphlet with the correct information, but no ballot.
The second envelope isn’t supposed to contain a ballot. It has the correct information for the one voters already were sent, said Garth Fell, elections manager at the Snohomish County Auditor’s Office.
However, that envelope still says “Your Official Ballot” on the front.
Bates is a volunteer with the campaign for a new Lake Stevens library. There are two measures on the ballot that, if approved, would allow for the construction of a library on Chapel Hill. One would form the district that would be taxed to pay for the library and the other would approve $17 million in bonds for construction.
Part of the campaign in favor of the library has been urging people to “vote yes twice,” Bates said, since both measures would need to pass in order to build the library.
Now, with two ballot envelopes and the “vote yes twice” message, she worries that some voters may be waiting on a second ballot or simply confused by the whole process. She’s heard from multiple people who don’t understand why they received an envelope labeled “Your Official Ballot” that contained no ballot.
Two weeks ago, a snafu with the printing of the ballots and accompanying information led to roughly 27,000 voters in the Lake Stevens area getting the wrong inserts with their ballots. Instead of information about the library measures, they got details about a school bond in Granite Falls.
Overseas and military voters received the correct information, Fell said, but everyone else registered to vote in Lake Stevens was caught in the mix-up.
The Snohomish County Auditor’s Office sent out the correct pamphlets Jan. 30. They came in envelopes nearly identical to those that the original ballot and pamphlet had come in, with the addition of an “Important” notice in red letters.
Voters should use the original ballot they were mailed and should not expect a second ballot, Fell said.
“We have received a few calls, and we know that the library has received a few calls, as well,” he said. “It’s an unfortunate situation but we believe that voters are responding appropriately and for the most part understanding what they need to do.”
Bates, who has lived in Lake Stevens for about 13 years, didn’t think anything was odd when she saw the second ballot envelope with the correct information. However, she’s heard from others that it was confusing.
“I think the county tried to make it right but I think the unintended consequence of this is that people are looking for that second ballot and it’s not there,” she said. “I’m just worried that one more layer of difficulty for someone who is about to go vote is just too much difficulty for our campaign here. People don’t need a hurdle, and this seems like kind of a hurdle.”
The second envelope, along with the pamphlet, contained a letter explaining the situation, Fell said. It also included the number to call with questions: 425-388-3444. Replacement ballots, if needed, can be downloaded at myvote.wa.gov.
Officials with Sno-Isle Libraries “are not overly concerned” about the confusion, spokesman Jim Hills said. There have been some questions, including at least one person who stopped by the current Lake Stevens Library to ask employees there for clarification.
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.
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