Following election rules to the letter

Published 9:00 pm Saturday, October 8, 2005

You can tell a lot about a person by the loops they swirl.

Many years ago, a handwriting analyst informed me that my signature revealed I was consumed with tension, the kind best eased with advice from Dr. Ruth, not Dr. Phil. The tip-off: the large loop in the lower half of my J.

Rather than phone the good doctor, I shrank the loop and smiled.

Not all alterations in one’s signature are so beneficial.

For 115 Snohomish County residents, their indeterminate cursive has made them the target of suspicion as possible perpetrators of election fraud.

Ballots mailed in by those voters had a signature on the envelope that did not match their signature on record with the county.

In the old days, they’d have gotten a notice from election officials to come in and clear things up, maybe even give a new handwriting sample. Most did, some didn’t, and life carried on regardless.

This year, with the conduct of elections and the behavior of voters under close scrutiny, rules new and old are being strictly followed in Snohomish County.

When the canvassing board determined it could not verify the names on 115 ballots because of aberrant signatures, it ordered those names sent to the prosecuting attorney. Board members cited a longtime state rule aimed at catching forgers.

More often than not, the cause traces back to a spouse penning a partner’s name, a voter scrawling too fast, or age sapping the sharpness off the p’s and q’s of older voters.

Counties might have authorities chat with spouses, because what they did was illegal, but prosecution will not be sought, state elections director Nick Handy said. An unmatched signature does not earn a visit from someone with a badge and gun.

Snohomish County may be alone in carrying out the law to its letter. Election officials in Clark, Island, Pierce, Skagit and Spokane counties said they are not because they don’t consider it mandatory.

“If there was some reason to suspect there was fraud, we would refer them to the prosecutor,” Spokane County elections manager Paul Brandt said of the 26 people there with mismatched signatures.

It will fall to Snohomish County prosecuting attorney Janice Ellis to decide whether the 115 men and women deserve scolding or jailing. She’s made no decisions on how to proceed, though it seems clear that investigating all of them would be an excruciating strain on limited resources.

County Auditor Bob Terwilliger isn’t looking to have deputies haul people in for questioning. On Tuesday, he’ll ask the canvassing board to reconsider its decision.

County Councilman Gary Nelson, a member of the canvassing board, hopes some investigating is done. Voting by mail is rife with opportunity for wrongdoing, and cheaters need to be caught, he said.

“I thought with all the attention on the 2004 election, people would realize there would be more scrutiny by election workers,” he said.

Right down to dotting the i’s, crossing the t’s and cinching up the loops.

Reporter Jerry Cornfield’s column on politics runs every Sunday. He can be heard at 7 a.m. Monday on the Morning Show on KSER 90.7 FM. He can be reached at 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.