State misfires on some voter registration mailings

OLYMPIA — Washington’s election leaders have incorrectly informed some voters that they are not officially registered.

The secretary of state’s office recently began sending postcards to about 1.1 million potential voters who appeared to be eligible but not registered. Co-director of elections Shane Hamlin said Friday that 1,100 people have called to ask why they got the mailing when they are already registered.

Hamlin said the stray mailings appear to be happening because of slight differences between driver’s license information and voter registration information for some residents. Hamlin said calls will help them clean up registration lists but that it was not their intention to cause confusion for registered voters.