Your ballot is likely already in your mail pile – so, don’t wait until November to fill it out and bring it to a drop box near you.
Washington’s 18-day voting period began on Oct. 19, receiving over 1,121,000 ballots by Oct. 26, according to state statistics. So far, the Whatcom County Auditor’s Office has processed about 10,000 ballots per day, according to Chief Deputy Auditor Amy Grasher.
While there’s nothing wrong with saving your vote for Election Day, there are benefits to starting the process earlier. Receiving ballots before Election Day gives people the opportunity to research what they’re voting for, said Eileen McCracken, the president of Bellingham’s League of Women Voters chapter (LWVBWC).
“We’re lucky [in Washington] because we can vote from home,” McCracken said. “You can use your resources. … Go to the library and LWVBWC websites. Start reading the pros and cons of the initiatives.”
Though many states switched to mail-in voting during the 2020 election in response to the pandemic, Washington state has been fully vote-by-mail since 2011. The ballot-counting process is finely tuned, according to Laurel Cook, a Bellingham resident who has been observing Whatcom County elections for the past 13 years.
“I am really in awe of the attention to detail that is done, always. The respect for each voter and each ballot is pretty amazing,” Cook said.
Whatcom County Auditor Stacy Henthorn encourages everyone to watch the ballot processing steps in the Election Center in person or online.
In the basement of the County Courthouse at 311 Grand St., ballots pass through the Agilis envelope scanner, which marks the ballot ID numbers with rapid-fire speed. When the rhythm changes, Grasher immediately responds, halting conversation to go and inspect the issue.
“When Amy heard the machine make a different sound, she was like, ‘Whoa, what's going on here?’” Cook said. “That was not going to get by.”
Whatcom County’s Agilis envelope scanner in Bellingham, Wash. on Oct. 24, 2024. All ballots are sent through the scanner twice. // Photo by Oren Roberts
The envelope scanner is only the third procedure in a rigorous 11-step process. A ballot’s journey to tabulation can take weeks, depending on signature status. Of the 13,000 ballots that Whatcom County has already processed, none will be tabulated and officially counted until Nov. 5.
“We don’t know the results until 8 p.m. on Election Day,” Grasher said.
As the Agilis sorts ballots, it also takes a picture of the signature on each envelope. Before a ballot can be counted, the signature needs to be verified to see if it matches the other signatures a person has on file (on their driver’s license, for example).
Sometimes, the signature is missing or doesn’t match, and an election worker will need to follow up with the voter. Grasher said that this can be the most time-consuming part of ballot processing – and according to McCracken, that’s part of why the League of Women Voters recommends early voting.
“The county is going to reach out to you if your signature doesn't match, and they will ask you to either come in or fill out some more paperwork and send it back by Nov. 25,” McCracken said. “If you have voted early, you have more time to do that.”
Though Nov. 5 is fast approaching, it’s still over a week away.
“The benefit of returning your ballot now is that your vote will be included in the first results count at 8 p.m. on Election Day,” Grasher said.
That’s not to say that ballots cast on Election Day won’t be a part of the final tabulation. The ballot return process has many steps. Counties won’t officially certify votes until Nov. 26, allowing for plenty of time to cure signature issues after Nov. 5.
“We are such an impatient culture that if we don't have [the results] by 8:15 on election night, we start to get frustrated,” Cook said. “I respect the time that is taken.”
Washington voters can register to vote in person up to Election Day. Western Washington University will host a pop-up satellite election office in the Viking Union on Nov. 5, where students can do just that.
“Students can actually walk into that place to register and vote all at the same time, but there will be a line,” McCracken said. “I mean, it's really better to register ahead of time.”
Online voter registration is open until Oct. 28 through the VoteWA portal. Voters can also use the portal to track the status of their ballot via text or even print out a new one, in case they lost or never received their initial one.
Washington makes voting accessible for all eligible residents – so what are you waiting for? Get your ballot to a drop box and vote.
Oren Roberts (they/them) is the opinions editor for The Front this fall. Previously, they wrote for The Front as a City News reporter. They are a senior studying news/editorial journalism. When not writing or editing, they enjoy brewing kombucha, taking long walks and photographing the beauty of Bellingham. You can reach them at westernfront.opeditor@gmail.com
