SEATTLE — More than 200,000 voters registered to vote or updated their voter information in the weeks leading up to the date King County mailed ballots for the November presidential and general election. Since ballot packets are prepared for mailing to voters a few weeks in advance, some of the updates occur too close to the mailing date to be able to interrupt the printing and mailing process. Meanwhile, voter files continue to be updated. As a result, some voters receive two ballots--one that has actually been suspended (but not in time to prevent it being mailed) and a second “replacement” ballot that is current and ready to be voted.
“There are safeguards built into the voter registration system as well as the ballot processing system to ensure that no voter can vote more than one time even if they have received more than one ballot,” said Elections Director Sherril Huff. “Additionally, ballots are only opened after verifying each voter’s signature that follows a declaration that includes a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the voter is only voting once in an election.”
Voters who receive two ballots should vote the ballot in the envelope marked "replacement ballot" which is accompanied by a printed explanation and instructions. If they have any questions, they should contact the Elections Department at 206-296-VOTE (8683) or elections@kingcounty.gov.
Voter registration information is constantly being updated and every election involves some voters receiving more than one ballot. Given the high volume of activity associated with the current election, the Elections Department estimates there could be as many as 10,000 voters with recent enough updates to their registration information to result in circumstances where they would receive a second, replacement ballot in the mail.
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