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Frequently Asked Questions
Mail Ballot
Security :
We protect
ballots by keeping them in secure storage vaults throughout
the election process. Access to the storage vaults is restricted
to designated elections staff only.
At several checkpoints
during the processing of mail ballots supervisors review to
make sure all ballots are accounted for.
All work with mail
ballots must be performed by a team of two or more employees
or in full view of other staff members.
Staff members are
trained in the security procedures used in handling ballots
and political party observers are notified of all processing
events.
| The
security and protection of voted ballots is of primary
importance to the Auditor and the Auditor's staff. |
Mail Ballot
Validation : Mail ballots
are issued only to those eligible to vote for a candidate
or issue.
A record is
kept of every mail ballot issued and every ballot returned.
Mail ballot
voters are required to sign their ballot envelope certifying that they
are eligible to vote in an election.
We compare each signed
ballot envelope with the voter's signature from their voter registration
application or an updated signature provided by the voter.
Our computer
system will only accept one ballot envelope for each voter. If a
second ballot envelope were to be received, the election management
system would reject the envelope.
The signature on every
ballot envelope must be verified before we can count the ballot. Upon verification
we give the voter credit for having voting.
After ballot
envelopes are opened, ballots are inspected to make sure the ballot
reader will process them.
| Mail
ballots are carefully controlled to restrict ballot
access to eligible voters only. |
Final
Election Results: State law requires
a period after Election Day for ‘canvassing' or completing
and verifying the election returns. A general election (November)
is finalized 21 days after Election Day and all other elections
are finalized 15 days later.
Currently, mail ballot voters have until Election Day to mail their ballots. We must count all ballots postmarked election day or received by 8:00 P.M. sharp, Election Day.
The Whatcom
County Canvassing Board must review the procedures followed
during the election and the vote counts. Once they are satisfied
with the process followed, and all ballots have been counted,
the Board certifies the election results.
State law
requires the recount of ballots in close contests. If the
difference in the vote count between the top two contenders
is 0.5% or less, the ballots must be recounted to verify the
result of the election. In some cases a manual recount is
required.
| It
takes time to count ballots in a controlled and secure
manner. The Whatcom County Auditor strives to release
timely and reliable election results while keeping ballots
secure. |
“Who
is the County Canvassing Board and what is their role in elections?”
The Canvassing Board is defined in state law. It is made up
of three elected county officials. The members are:
- The County Auditor
- The Prosecuting Attorney
- The Chair of the County Council
The members of the Board can delegate their responsibilities.
The Prosecuting Attorney usually appoints a Deputy Prosecutor
and the Chair of the County Council shares this responsibility
with the other six Council Members.
The Board is responsible for verifying the results from the voted ballots.
The Board reviews all mail ballots referred to them if they were
received with a signature that does not match the one on file or
if voter intent is not clear. No ballot may be rejected for any election unless done so by the Canvassing Board. Election staff members may not reject ballots.
The Board certifies the results of the election. This certification
states that all votes have been counted and included in the
vote total. |
