Some King County voters mistakenly get two election ballots

BY Frank Shiers  on October 22, 2012 @ 6:00 am (Updated: 8:34 am - 10/22/12 )

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Ballots are now arriving at voters homes in King County, and some complain they're getting more than one.

"What I found this morning were two ballots, the first one has my first and last name. The second one has my first, middle, and last name," Tracy Maxwell tells KING 5. "People are voting this weekend for the President of the United States, and there's mistakes happening."

But King County Elections officials say it's not a big problem because protections are in place to ensure only one ballot per person is counted.

Spokeswoman Jerelyn Hampton says Maxwell received two ballots because she had recently updated her voter registration information with her middle name, information King County apparently did not have in the system before.

"The first ballot that was issued to the voter was actually suspended and we issued a replacement ballot," said Hampton.

Anyone with questions about their ballot can call the King County Elections office during business hours, Monday through Friday, at 206-296-VOTE.

You can check the status of your voter registration here.

Frank Shiers, KIRO Radio Anchor
Frank is a man of many talents, including anchoring the weekend news updates. He's filled in for almost every other host on the station. Frank is also a talented cartoonist.
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Comments (18)


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  • Rick W7PSK wrote...
    Sure it was a mistake
    October 22, 2012 6:59 am
    Sure, just like the hundreds of FOUND ballots before.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • FormerMarineSgt wrote...
    It's funny how the 'blame government' folks gotta keep on slamming even when they don't read the article....
    October 22, 2012 9:07 am
    Gee - the woman in this story requested a name change on her voter registration too late for her original registration to be removed before ballots where mailed. AND her new ballot told her not to use the original one. AND there is a system in place to remove the duplicate (the one with the original name on it) if it were to be recieved by the elections office. AND OF COURSE IT'S GOVERNMENT'S FAULT ALL THE WAY.... You folks are plain outright pathetic in your 'blame 'em no matter what'. Heck - they're probably blaming government for it not being sunny today...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ted Bundi wrote...
    Yep, you are right
    October 22, 2012 12:15 pm
    and when they tell you that they used the old bolts for the jet engine on the 747 you are on... it's OK... going down
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    I was about to predict that certain voices would insist..
    October 22, 2012 7:15 am
    that this is probably a "liberal conspiracy" to allow neon blue King County two votes per voter.

    RickAlphabet made such a "prediction" mute.

    If gay marriage passes, marijuana is legalized, and/or Inslee is elected governor we will hear non-stop griping from right field that the results don't really reflect the actually far more conservative outlook of the "real Americans" living in Washington.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • FormerMarineSgt wrote...
    Chuck, Chuck, chuck, you know that you're throwing a phony conspiracy out there...
    October 22, 2012 9:20 am
    Chuck - There's no way for the elections dept. to know how a person voted, so there's no way they can use a few duplicate ballots to trick an election. Even if they did manage to get the duplicates past the voter registration validation stage. The closest that they can come to rigging it this way is to send lots and lots of the duplicates to precincts that vote democrat (or republican - depending on the trickery desired). And even then, the odds of catching only voters that vote the way you want them to AND finding voters willing to break the law to vote twice is far less than enough to alter 99% of elections. Only when the gap is a few votes would it affect the outcome. And you already know that elections that are that tight are very rare. I'm not stupid enough to think that this couldn't happen - but I'm also not stupid enough to think that just because the right wing wants to think it's happening now means that it actually is.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HLC wrote...
    Well chuck your finally starting to see how things really are.
    October 22, 2012 7:20 am
    Its not a surprise for king county at all. Safeguards, thats funny.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HPD 5-0 wrote...
    Again?!
    October 22, 2012 8:05 am
    I bet they'll all "conveniently" be returned w/ votes for Inslee and then they'll just "happened" to be "found" in time to be counted...Gawd you Dimocrats will resort to ANYTHING to remain in power!!! I bet you'd kill your g-mothers if it meant staying in the Gov's office. Disgusting.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HPD 5-0 wrote...
    I mean seriously, we have a statue dedicated to Lenin here. It's appalling.
    October 22, 2012 8:09 am
    Like I said; IT'S DISGUSTING!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Basso wrote...
    Safeguards...
    October 22, 2012 8:13 am
    Just like the ones that are "in place" to ensure everyone gets 1 ballot. What a joke.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • kagey wrote...
    Safeguards...
    October 22, 2012 4:31 pm
    Basso is right. The safeguards are a joke. My daughter got married in 2008 and legally changed her name at that time. She still gets a ballot mailed in her maiden name to our house, AND another in her married name to her house. This has been going on for 4 years. I just used the King County Elections Ballot Tracker to confirm -- they think the two names are two separate people. Safeguards indeed.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Sashadog wrote...
    Now...
    October 22, 2012 8:26 am
    That's a surprise headline in King County!!!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Bucket Dad wrote...
    Two conflicting ideas
    October 22, 2012 8:49 am
    When I first saw this story on television and when I read this here, with King County's assertion that "not a big problem because protections are in place to ensure only one ballot per person is counted," I had a thought.

    If the county can indeed somehow track that only one ballot with my name on it gets submitted, how do they guarantee my anonymous vote? Isn't that a guaranteed right?

    Or are they just saying that, and that they really don't have a system in place, and they are just lying through their teeth. Also, how do they know that a dictatorial head of family is not voting all of his/her family's ballots? or the ballot was stolen and voted by someone who is not eligible to vote?

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • FormerMarineSgt wrote...
    Wow Bucket Dad....
    October 22, 2012 9:13 am
    "If the county can indeed somehow track that only one ballot with my name on it gets submitted, how do they guarantee my anonymous vote? Isn't that a guaranteed right?" ---- Gee Bucket Dad, let me get remedial upon your hiney.... Your ballot stays in the privacy envelope until AFTER it's seperated from the mailing envelope. They validate the voter registration based on the information on the envelope (name, signature, address, etc, etc.) and if the voter registration is invalid (like with the lady who changed her registered name), the invalid ones are not opened and the ballot is not counted. Only after the registration is validated is the ballot (still sealed in the privacy envelope) seperated from the mailing envelope and put into the group of ballots to be removed from the privacy envelope and counted. So yes, your anonymous vote is still securely anonymous. And your red herring about a dictatorial head of family voting for everyone else, unless they can forge the signature (or force everyone in thier family to sign it anyway), then it's likely caught at the voter registration validation stage.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Paul Kersey wrote...
    King County...voters....mistake
    October 22, 2012 9:08 am
    Four words that you never want to see in one sentence three weeks before an election.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Rick W7PSK wrote...
    Paul
    October 22, 2012 10:46 am
    I seems like every election we keep reading this same one sentence. King County mistakes in the ballots, and yet the elections committee and chair continue to stay.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • hnuh wrote...
    Chuck,
    October 22, 2012 11:08 am
    it's "moot"... not "mute"... even though through the printed word the mootness is in fact mute.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }