Threatened with lawsuit, Pierce County auditor to issue Election Day clarification

Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson has agreed to the demand of Washington Democrats to clarify the deadline for voters to mail their ballots back in time for them to be counted in the November election.

Ballots must be postmarked no later than Nov. 8 to be counted (it’s OK if they arrive at election headquarters after Election Day). Pierce County ballots came with a flyer that showed a deadline of Nov. 4 for mailing ballots via the U.S. Postal Service.

Anderson explained she was acting at the recommendation of the Postal Service to make sure that ballots were in the mail in time to get the Nov. 8 postmark.

Democrats said that could mislead some late voters into thinking the election was over four days early.

The state Democratic Party today threatened to sue Pierce County if the auditor did not post a clarification online by tomorrow and also agree to send a mailer clarifying the election date to each voter by Nov. 1.

Late today, a spokeswoman for Pierce County told KIRO-7 that the auditor has agreed to meet the demands made by the Democrats.  She said the mailers will cost $50,000.

In a statement this evening, Washington State Democratic Chair Jaxon Ravens said the party appreciates the auditor’s office’s responsiveness to the party’s concerns.

Cox Media Group