Dori: Local TV station inadvertently raises questions over possible instance of voter fraud

Enthusiastic voters are a good thing, but was it legit for a recent Seattle transplant from New York City to vote in Tuesday’s election?

KOMO 4 News ran an Election Day story about a new Seattleite who told a TV reporter that he had moved here from New York City three days earlier, and immediately registered to vote to cast a ballot.

The catch? Washington state’s constitution says voters must live here continuously for at least 30 days before they’re eligible to cast a ballot.

It reads:

All persons of the age of eighteen years or over who are citizens of the United States and who have lived in the state, county, and precinct thirty days immediately preceding the election at which they offer to vote, except those disqualified by Article VI, section 3 of this Constitution, shall be entitled to vote at all elections.

Now, maybe this new voter didn’t know these rules – or maybe he didn’t explain to the reporter that he has lived here longer than three days. At face value, this case raises my bushy eyebrows, so our team reached out to King County Elections to get their read on it.

Here is what KCE Communications Officer Halei Watkins emailed to our team:

When a voter registers to vote, they sign an oath that says they have been a resident at their address for at least 30 days before election day. There is a challenge process that can be initiated by any registered voter if they believe that the voter is not eligible to cast a ballot due to address, age, or not meeting the other requirements laid out in state law. Challenging a voter’s registration and ability to cast a ballot requires a process and actual evidence that the voter didn’t establish their residence earlier than their casual comment implied.

We cannot assume to know a voter’s full residential history or story based on one sentence in a news story. If anyone has more information they can provide to meaningfully challenge this voter’s registration, we will be happy to investigate.

Until cases like this are clarified, it’s pretty clear why I continue to have severe doubts about our elections system and the immense potential for fraud.

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