MUKILTEO — In a 13,000-square foot office across the road from the Future of Flight museum, ballots cast by Snohomish County voters are getting processed at a painstaking pace.

Batches arrive each day and one-by-one proceed on a journey through a gantlet of inspection, verification and validation before they will be counted Nov. 8.

It’s all getting done by hand right now. When the counting machines are switched on, they won’t be connected to the internet where someone sitting on their bed or in the Kremlin could mess with them.

“I don’t have any concerns about the validity of the final vote,” Snohomish County Auditor Carolyn Weikel said as she watched men and women working on some of the 50,856 ballots returned as of Friday morning.

Anyone harboring concerns about potential tampering should come see for themselves how this phase of the decision-making process is conducted, she said.

Ever since Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump suggested this year’s election could be “rigged,” election officers have responded and defended the protective manner in which ballots are counted.

“This kind of baseless accusation is irresponsible and threatens to undermine voter confidence on this most basic foundation of democracy,” Secretary of State Kim Wyman, a Republican, said in a statement earlier this month. “Every eligible ballot will be handled securely and tabulated carefully and accurately.”

In Mukilteo, the entire process is taking place in a rectangular-shaped building off Highway 526. The front door faces Paine Field and periodically one can hear, and feel a rumble, when a plane flies overhead.

Each day, ballots returned by mail or placed in the drop boxes are collected and brought to the loading doors of the processing center. Ballots are placed in trays, about 300 to a tray. The first step in the process requires an individual worker to verify that the signature on the outside envelope matches that of the registered voter.

The next stage begins with workers removing ballots from secrecy envelopes. Each ballot is inspected to ensure the markings are clear. If not, it may need to be duplicated for the purpose of counting. Bar codes on the ballot are scanned; at the end of the process the number of ballots scanned needs to equal the number counted.

Two people carry out these duties side-by-side, checking and double-checking each other.

“It would be extremely difficult to manipulate a ballot,” Weikel said. “You always have a partner and we have processes in place to make sure ballots are not added in or taken out. To cheat you’d have to have collusion with your partner.”

There are several county election staff overseeing this stage. Plus, the county has hired two people — one each blessed by the county Democratic and Republican parties — who assist in the work and are instructed to let election officials know if they see anything wrong.

To top it off, the room is equipped with security cameras.

Once ballots are scanned and stacked and ready for counting, they are put in boxes that get sealed, then stored in a secure and locked area that is fenced from floor to ceiling.

Come Election Day, ballots will be counted on seven tabulating machines that have been checked and certified for accuracy by the Secretary of State’s Office. Results will be compiled on a server that is not connected to the internet. The only time this process moves online is when the latest ballot tallies are uploaded on the county and state election results website.

In Island County, where nearly 26 percent of voters had returned their ballots as of Friday, it’s a similar undertaking. Voters are asking about tampering, too.

“We talk them through the process. We invite them to view the process,” said Island County Auditor Sheilah Crider. “We explain the security protocols in place to ensure our ballots are secure while they are in our possession.”

As with Snohomish County, the tabulating machinery “is not, has not and never will be connected to the internet,” Crider said.

For further information on ballot processing in Snohomish County, call 425-388-3444.

Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com Twitter: @dospueblos