EVERETT – Snohomish County election officials expect a massive turnout of voters Tuesday – and a slew of lawyers watching to make sure everything runs smoothly.
Election manager Carolyn Diepenbrock said Wednesday that lawyers hired by the Democratic and Republican parties have told the auditor’s office they will visit polling places during the day, though they did not disclose which ones or when.
Diepenbrock said she also anticipates party representatives will observe vote-counting Tuesday night.
Snohomish is one of several counties in Washington where one or both parties have pledged stepped-up monitoring to detect irregularities. Across the country, the two parties are deploying thousands of lawyers and trained observers to avert a repeat of the problems that beset Florida in the 2000 election.
Diepenbrock and Snohomish County Auditor Bob Terwilliger said their focus this week is on getting absentee ballots returned on time and preparing poll voters on what to expect.
Terwilliger is predicting 85 percent of the county’s 352,238 registered voters will turn out. Of that total, 217,420 have been sent absentee ballots; 71,000, or 33 percent, had been returned as of Tuesday.
He is hoping the majority of the outstanding absentee ballots will be sent in by Monday so they can be counted on election night. Those turned in Tuesday will be counted after the election.
Voters heading to one of the county’s 143 polling places could encounter long lines. Typically, the busiest times are before and after work, 7-9 a.m. and 4-8 p.m. Terwilliger suggested voting in the middle of the day to avoid the crunch.
Regardless, he said, “Everybody who is in line at 8 p.m. when the polls close will be allowed to vote.”
When people show up at the wrong polling place, they will be allowed to cast a provisional ballot, he said. Information will be checked to verify that they are registered. If so, it will be tallied.
Snohomish County will deploy all 1,000 of its electronic voting machines. Each has been tested for accuracy, Diepenbrock said. That includes 20 machines that failed in the Sept. 14 primary election and were repaired.
If you have a question about the election or your status, call 425-388-3444.
Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
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