Sept. 15, 2005
King County reminds voters about changes at polls
 With the primary a week away, King County is reminding poll voters of new voting procedures and the importance of properly marking their ballots.
"We are striving for a partnership with voters that we expect will result in a very accurate election," said Dean Logan, Director of Records, Elections and Licensing. "We have done a number of things to improve accuracy and we are reminding voters of the steps they can take to make sure they mark their ballots properly and follow new voting instructions."
More than 289,000 voters expected to vote at the polls will receive postcards this week reminding them of important steps they can take to ensure accurate vote counting.
Things poll voters need to be aware of:
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Bring ID to the Polls. State law now requires voters provide ID at the polls. Acceptable ID includes a Washington State driver’s license, a Washington voter registration card, a utility bill in your name, student or tribal ID, or any government ID.
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Pick a party before voting. To vote in partisan contests in the Primary, voters must select a party preference and vote only for candidates of their party choice. Then, vote in the nonpartisan races even if a party isn’t chosen.
Polling place vote counting machines are programmed to provide a second chance to voters to make sure their ballot is counted correctly. If a party is not selected, only votes for non-partisan candidates and issues will be counted.
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Completely follow instructions. Voters should use a dark pen to fill in the oval next to their choice. Fill in the oval completely. If an error is made in voting, ask a poll worker for a new ballot.
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Provisional voters, make your vote count! Complete the provisional ballot envelope and return the voted ballot to the designated poll worker.
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Double check! Before submitting a ballot, voters should take a second look. Make sure directions have been followed and that they filled in the ovals for their selections completely. Take the extra effort to ensure your vote is counted. If the tabulation machine is unable to read your ballot, it will be rejected and you will be given the chance to correctly mark the ballot and resubmit it.
King County Elections has also taken a number of steps to improve elections.
"With voters taking the time to properly mark their ballots and improvements King County is making to elections, we are in good shape heading in to this Primary," said Logan.
Steps King County has taken to improve elections include:
- Added security including an ID check at the polls and tightening access requirements.
- Provisional ballots look different from poll ballots and can’t go through the vote counting machines.
- Voter rolls have been cleaned. To date, more than 900 felons and 8,800 deceased voters have been removed from the official rolls since last year’s election.
- Procedures have been standardized with other Puget Sound counties.
- Trainings have been revamped and increased making it mandatory for all poll workers and staff.
- In addition to training, poll workers had new, improved and extensive procedure manuals mailed to them.
- Quality control procedures are in place to assist staff and poll workers in tracking every poll ballot.
- King County was among the first in the state to mail military and overseas ballots and has made it easier for these voters to request a fax or email ballot.
- Holes have been drilled in absentee ballot envelopes so staff can see, remove and count each ballot.
- Staff is double checking each others work to better account for absentee ballots.
On Election Day, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters can find their polling place, find a bus route to the polls and look up answers to frequently asked questions by visiting http://www.kingcounty.gov/elections and clicking on "Locate your specific polling place."
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