Why do dead people keep getting ballots in Washington?

One of the biggest issues that can shake people’s trust in the democratic process is when ineligible voters, and dead people, receive ballots. This crops up every election cycle, and 2024 is no different.

Virginia has been at the forefront as they are in the midst of an ongoing legal battle in the U.S. Supreme Court to have noncitizens removed from their voter rolls. Even here in Washington, a Bellevue woman just received ballots for 16 different people in the mail.

Even more confounding though, is when a dead person receives a ballot. How does this happen?

Why do dead people get ballots in Washington elections?

“The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH reached out to the offices of both the Snohomish and King County auditors to find out why this happens, how they find out if a voter has passed away and what is done if one of these ballots is returned.

When a ballot is sent to someone who has died, it’s typically because that person’s information has been filed before the county was notified of their death. The county also often learns of a person’s death through their family. But, not surprisingly, it isn’t always a family member’s top priority to update that immediately.

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In the case that a family member does not notify, the county also checks with agencies such as the Social Security Administration, United States Postal Service, Washington State Department of Licensing, and the Washington State Department of Health. Snohomish County said they even do daily reviews of obituaries in the newspaper.

If a ballot happens to be sent to someone before the county learns of their death, then it will be flagged and set aside for further review if it is returned.

What if a dead voter’s ballot is returned?

The main safety net against any potentially fraudulent ballot handed in is signature verification.

Washington law requires a signature to match what is on a voter’s registration record in order for that ballot to be counted. So, if someone else signed for a dead voter’s ballot it would be immediately challenged.

A ballot with a signature that does not match and is dated after the voter passed away will be investigated by the county’s prosecuting attorney for potential criminal charges. King County investigated 17 suspected cases in 2020 out of more than 1.2 million ballots returned.

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So, does people receiving ballots suggest there is widespread cheating and fraud? Not likely, but the bigger concern is that these types of errors understandably sow distrust in the integrity of our elections. It is incumbent upon all of us to demand transparency amongst our local elections officials and that they prosecute any violators to the fullest extent of the law.

Jackson Meyer is the producer for “The Jason Rantz Show.”

Listen to “The Jason Rantz Show” on weekday afternoons from 3-7 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.