EVERETT – It’s a good bet that hundreds of Snohomish County ballots will be rejected this election because they will be postmarked too late, officials said.
That’s what happened to 2,800 ballots in three recent major county elections.
“Just because voters put it in a box doesn’t mean it gets into the system and gets postmarked,” county election manager Carolyn Diepenbrock said. “I wish people wouldn’t wait to the last moment, and I think that’s what happens with these particular voters.”
In the September primary, 912 mail-in ballots were too late. Postmarks came too late on 1,176 ballots in the 2005 general election. The figure was 712 in the 2004 general election.
Snohomish County officials heard some postal boxes were stuffed to overflowing on primary election day. To help, they struck a deal with six local post offices to postmark ballots until 8 p.m. Tuesday.
State Republican party leaders on Thursday said they worry about lost votes, especially in the GOP-rich rural areas of the state as most counties hold their first all-mail general elections.
“We are gravely concerned about the potential for rural voters to be disenfranchised on Election Day because of the earlier cut-off times for mail pick up in rural areas,” state Republican Party Chairwoman Diane Tebelius said.
“We must make voters aware that their votes won’t count if they don’t make the earlier deadlines.”
Thirty-four of the state’s 39 counties have closed their polling places and made the switch to all-mail elections, and Snohomish County is the largest to do so.
Each election, hundreds of ballots are disallowed because they arrive too late to be counted, Secretary of State Sam Reed said.
“It is a serious issue and it has been for a long time,” Reed said.
State law requires each county to operate ballot drop-off sites until 8 p.m. on Election Day. Lawmakers approved the move in 2005 amid concern the last pickup for most public mailboxes is well before the polls close at 8 p.m.
Reed said voters are “taking a big risk” by waiting too long and putting ballots in a mailbox on Election Day.
Officials said voters should read carefully the pick-up times on mailboxes.
Late voters used to be able to drop off their ballots at 123 polling places in Snohomish County.
All-mail elections foreclosed that option, so officials hired election workers for 21 drop-off locations at grocery stores and coffee shops. Sites are now open weekdays from noon to 4 p.m. and will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Locations are listed at www.snoco.org. Click on the link for “2006 general election information” and then click on “community collection centers.”
On Wednesday, the first day for collections, 1,619 ballots were dropped off at the sites. Election officials have received more than 68,000 ballots in all.
Reporter Jeff Switzer: 425-339-3452 or jswitzer@heraldnet.com.
Six post offices will postmark ballots until 8 p.m. on Tuesday, which is Election Day. They are:
Edmonds, 201 Main St.
Everett, 3102 Hoyt Ave.
Lynnwood, 6817 208th St. SW
Marysville, 1010 State Ave.
Snohomish, 1323 Ave. D
Everett post office distribution center, 8120 Hardeson Road
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