By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
The cornerstone of democracy is the voice of the citizen. That voice is exercised by the right to vote.
Washington state leads the country in making sure voting accessible to eligible voters. However, according to Washington State Secretary of State Steve Ryuma Hobbs, there are still voting disparities and “we must do more” to ensure that all demographics are represented equally in this process.
A February report published by Washington State Auditor Pat McCarthy identified mixed results. According to the report, the state had an extremely low overall ballot-rejection rate, but an increased likelihood of rejection among certain voter groups. The report found the percentage of rejections in 2020 for Black was 2.49%, Native Americans were at 1.59 %, Hispanics 1.57%, Asian/Pacific Islanders 1.24% and whites were at 0.63%.
In total, the report identified the ballot-rejection rate at less than 1% across all counties and demographic groups. Hobbs attributes the state’s low rates to the work done by our auditors and the Office of the Secretary of State.
“These numbers are the results of continuous improvement, evaluation, and collaboration between county auditors and the Office of the Secretary of State,” continued Hobbs. “However, significant disparities among voter groups were uncovered: ballots of Black Washingtonians are rejected at four-times the rate of white voters; Native Americans and Hispanics at nearly triple the rate of white voters; and Asian/Pacific Islanders at nearly double the rate of white voters.”
Washington state’s mail-in ballot process affords widespread access to eligible voters with a best-in-class security. The mail in ballot system was introduced in Washington in 1983 for special elections. By 1991, any eligible voter could apply for an absentee ballot. By 2005, counties could opt to conduct elections entirely by mail and more than two-thirds switched to mail-in voting. Then, in 2011, the state fully adopted voting by mail in all 39 counties.
According to Hobbs, “mail-in ballots offer important conveniences that can increase participation. Namely, they allow voters time to study the issues and candidates while they complete their ballots. They are cost effective, and they allow us to maintain a critical safeguard: a paper trail of every vote.”
Some of the reasons that ballots are rejected, include: a voter signature may not match the voter registration signature on file, a ballot may be left unsigned or returned late. Also, according to officials, signatures can change because of medical conditions, injuries, aging and/or other factors. As well as the state’s young voters may not have the same level of familiarity with the process or the use of official signatures.
McCarthy found no evidence of bias in any of those ballot rejection decisions; however, she did state, “Disparities in rejection rates for different racial and ethnic groups are unacceptable.”
Hobbs has taken it upon himself to implement improvements within the system through the education, outreach and participation of the state’s voters.
“I have formally requested the state Legislature fund a study through the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance at the University of Washington, to refine and test the State Auditor’s recommendations and support implementation of the viable solutions to enhance and expand voter outreach, education, and participation,” say Hobbs.
“As your Chief Elections Officer, I will work tirelessly,” added Hobbs. “With our county election partners we will work to ensure that all eligible voters in Washington are able to access their ballots, exercise their right to vote, and make their voices heard in our democracy.”
