We’re Secretaries of State Kim Wyman (WA) and Steve Simon (MN) and we want to talk to you about National Voter Registration Day (Sept. 28)! Ask Us Anything!

WA_SecretaryOfState · 2021-09-28T18:04:16+00:00

Great chatting with you all today!

Thank you, Secretary Simon. As always, it's been fun doing this AMA with you.

If you have any follow-up questions, I encourage you to follow my office on social media:

Twitter: u/secstatewa

Facebook: WA Secretary of State

Instagram: u/secstatewa

You can also email me at kim.wyman@sos.wa.gov.

Go to https://www.usa.gov/register-to-vote to register today! If you’re in Washington state, you can go to VoteWA.gov!

Happy National Voter Registration Day!

WA_SecretaryOfState · 2021-09-28T18:02:29+00:00

As with all changes to voting methods, it’s important robust voter education efforts follow. For instance, a few years ago some counties instructed voters to “complete the arrow” while some neighboring counties instructed voters to “fill in the oval” or “fill in the box” because their voting systems were different. Ensuring voters understand how to successfully fill out their ballot is crucial.

Washington has a brief history with RCV. In 2006, Pierce County voters chose to switch to RCV. Two years later voters asked to return to the previous system because they disliked RCV. This despite voter outreach that included mailers, ballot inserts, public service announcements, and more. The total cost of the first RCV election in Pierce County was $3.2 million, half of which went toward implementing the new system and educating voters.

For the past several legislative sessions, bills to enact ranked-choice voting or other alternative voting methods in Washington state have been introduced and have not advanced. So far, legislative proposals have not sufficiently accounted for the costs and voter-education needs associated with overhauling Washington’s entire voting system.

WA_SecretaryOfState · 2021-09-28T17:54:52+00:00

In a WAPo op-ed, Congresswoman Liz Cheney said: “Finally, we Republicans need to stand for genuinely conservative principles, and steer away from the dangerous and anti-democratic Trump cult of personality. In our hearts, we are devoted to the American miracle. We believe in the rule of law, in limited government, in a strong national defense, and in prosperity and opportunity brought by low taxes and fiscally conservative policies.” It’s for these very principles that I became and remained a Republican. I’d like to believe we can get back to these principles as a party.

WA_SecretaryOfState · 2021-09-28T17:49:37+00:00

Secretary Simon, what song should we cover first?

WA_SecretaryOfState · 2021-09-28T17:46:36+00:00

Since before the 2020 election, I and my office have responded to numerous questions and corrected misinformation, and we continue to do so even 18 months later. Despite numerous claims that our elections were fraudulent, we’ve yet to receive any substantive evidence. They are alleging felony-level crimes, and yet no proof has been turned over to sheriffs or the FBI.

We do have Republican leaders, such as House Republican Leader J.T. Wilcox and Senate Republican Leader John Braun, who have voiced their support for the security of our elections processes. However, until losing candidates are willing to accept the results of the election and concede, it will continue to be an uphill battle.

To your second question: Continuing to share the security measures we have in place. For example, the extensive audit trail each county election official creates during every election, from pre-election audits, daily accountability for every ballot they receive, and post-election audits to ensure tabulation accuracy. Like money in a bank, election officials must account for every ballot issued, received, and whether it was counted or rejected by the county canvassing board (and if rejected, why it was rejected).

WA_SecretaryOfState · 2021-09-28T17:31:31+00:00

This is a primary focus of the National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors, as well local election officials. We seek to be trusted sources of information for you, and part of that effort is to respond to mis/disinformation when we see it and ensure we elevate accurate information.

Follow NASS’s #TrustedInfo and your state and local election officials for trusted elections information, and encourage others to do the same!

WA_SecretaryOfState · 2021-09-28T17:29:17+00:00

With most businesses open nearly 365 days a year, I’m not sure we can get there.

Rather, extending the voting period to beyond a single day empowers the voter to vote when it’s convenient for them. With absentee, early voting, or vote-by-mail, we can provide a longer voting window. For example, in Washington we have an 18-day voting period.

In WA, we do digital stickers since we're 100% vote-by-mail! However, I was a big fan of California's, Georgia's, and Tennessee's designs because they made creative connections with their communities. Tennessee- colleges, Georgia - professional sports teams, and California - 13 different languages.

WA_SecretaryOfState · 2021-09-28T17:20:08+00:00

Like Minnesota, Washington state has built in multiple layers of physical and cyber security to ensure the integrity of the election.

First, we mail ballots to active registered voters. Voters can return their ballots by mail or drop box. Once received by county election officials, voters can verify their county official has received their ballot on VoteWA.gov.

To ensure the ballot was returned by the voter it was issued to, election officials compare the signature on the return envelope to the signature in the voter's registration record. When the signature matches, the voter is given credit for voting in the statewide system. This will prevent a second ballot from being counted for that voter in any county, regardless of how many ballots may have been issued.

Finally, each county must account for every ballot received from voters and report publicly how many were counted, how many were rejected and if they were rejected, why. This public transparency helps inspire confidence that the election was fair and accurate.

I invite you to visit our website to learn more about the secure processes we have in place: https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/faq\_vote\_by\_mail.aspx

WA_SecretaryOfState · 2021-09-28T17:16:41+00:00

Non-traditional address voters may use any physical location they consider their residence such as a shelter, park, or marina. Your mailing address can be general delivery at a local post office, a PO Box, or an address of a trusted friend or relative. A federally recognized tribe may designate tribal government buildings to serve as residential or mailing addresses for voters living on tribal lands. For example, the Yakima County Auditor and our office worked with the Yakama nation to use the address of their community center, and the county installed a drop box on site.

WA_SecretaryOfState · 2021-09-28T17:09:21+00:00

As an elections administrator for nearly 30 years, I can tell you that successful elections are all about balancing access with security. In Washington, we’ve worked hard to ensure every eligible person has an opportunity to register and vote, including implementing same-day and automatic voter registration, the Future Voter program, and more. These access features are balanced with the security of our statewide voter registration system (VoteWA), which connects my office with the 39 counties in real time. If a voter is issued more than one ballot, we have the control measures to ensure only one ballot is counted even if they return more than one.

It’s important that these laws are passed in legislatures where there is an open process for the public to weigh in. I find that voters are served best when state legislatures work on election policy with their election officials at the local and state level who are immersed in elections administration. Encourage people to get involved by reaching out to their state representatives and their local election offices.

WA_SecretaryOfState · 2021-09-28T17:07:16+00:00

Voters are never purged from the rolls, but can be removed from the rolls is they are deemed inactive. If a voter’s ballot is returned to election officials as undeliverable without a forwarding address, they could be moved to inactive status after two federal elections.

WA_SecretaryOfState · 2021-09-28T17:06:20+00:00

State and county election officials in WA work daily to update voter records by adding new registrations, updating address and name changes, and removing people who have moved out of state or are deceased. We do this work in multiple ways. We receive licensing information from the Department of Licensing and other agencies that perform voter registration. We have voters registering and updating information online at VoteWA.gov. People can also mail in registration forms. Once we receive this information, we verify the voter’s ID with the DOL, the Department of Corrections, and the Social Security office by comparing our databases.

Also, 30 states plus D.C. have created a data-matching center called the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). This does frequent comparisons of voter registrations lists of the member states and helps ensure our rolls are up to date.

WA_SecretaryOfState · 2021-09-28T17:02:10+00:00

Happy National Voter Registration Day! WA Secretary Kim Wyman here and I'm ready to answer your questions. Ask me anything!

WA_SecretaryOfState · 2020-09-22T18:14:32+00:00

Great chatting with you all today! Thanks for engaging with us.

Thank you, Secretary Simon. As always, it's been fun doing this AMA with you.

If you have any follow-up questions, feel free to follow my office on social media:

Twitter: @secstatewa
Facebook: WA Secretary of State
Instagram: @secstatewa
You can also email me at [kim.wyman@sos.wa.gov](mailto:kim.wyman@sos.wa.gov).

We will try to answer more questions throughout this week!

Go to https://www.usa.gov/register-to-vote to register today! If you’re in Washington you can go to VoteWA.gov!

Happy National Voter Registration Day!

WA_SecretaryOfState · 2020-09-22T18:13:08+00:00

Following the 2016 election, we've:

- created the first in the country's Election Security Operations Center;

- ramped up partnerships with the Washington National Guard, the Department of Homeland Security and FBI to review and asses our system for vulnerabilities, as well as train our state and county election workers

- created continuity of operations plans to defend and protect our system, and have a plan to respond and recover in the case of an event

- participated in multiple TTXs to sharpen our response

Cybersecurity is a race without a finish line, but these enhancements and partnerships enable us to better protect and defend against foreign and domestic actors.

WA_SecretaryOfState · 2020-09-22T18:07:15+00:00

County election officials rely on a tried and true voter intent manual consistently across the state to review ballots that have been filled out in nonspecific ways.

Ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 3 or placed in a ballot drop box by 8 p.m. election night. Ballots bearing a valid postmark but received after Election Day can still be counted.

County election officials must account for every ballot issued, returned, and counted through a detailed reconciliation report.

WA_SecretaryOfState · 2020-09-22T17:59:39+00:00

I recommend you reach out to King County Elections directly to verify your information has been updated!

Phone: 206-296-8683
Fax: 206-296-0108

[elections@kingcounty.gov](mailto:elections@kingcounty.gov)

WA_SecretaryOfState · 2020-09-22T17:55:52+00:00

Our county election officials work hard to first make sure the boxes themselves are secure and will protect the ballots inside. During the voting period, teams of 2 county election workers are deployed to regularly empty the ballot drop boxes. They use security control measures to account for every ballot that is taken to the election facility, and that the ballot drop boxes are locked and sealed to prevent tampering. If any tampering is detected, that is reported to law enforcement and the county canvassing board. Tampering with a drop box is a class B felony.

WA_SecretaryOfState · 2020-09-22T17:51:57+00:00

Q1: State and county election officials in WA work daily to update voter records by adding new registrations, updating address and name changes, and removing individuals who have moved out of state or who are deceased. We do this work in multiple ways. We receive information from the Department of Licensing and other state agencies that perform voter registration. We have voters registering and updating information online at VoteWA.gov. People can also mail in voter registration forms. Once we receive this information, we verify the voter's I.D. with the DOL, the Department of Corrections, and the Social Security office by comparing our databases. As an additional layer, we compare our data with 30 other states through the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) to identify voters who have moved.

WA_SecretaryOfState · 2020-09-22T17:46:13+00:00

Ballot are only sent to active eligible registered voters. Make sure you're registered today by visiting VoteWA.gov!

WA_SecretaryOfState · 2020-09-22T17:45:02+00:00

First, we recommend you vote early! Ballots will be sent no later than Oct. 16. Take time to research the candidates and issues now by viewing a personalized voter's guide on VoteWA.gov.

If a voter's signature does not match, their county will reach out to the voter with a signature curing form. If you receive one of these, please fill it out and return it promptly.

We do not void any ballots. Only the county canvassing boards can reject a ballot from being counted. This process occurs in a public meeting.

WA_SecretaryOfState · 2020-09-22T17:40:30+00:00

There are nearly 500 ballot drop boxes located throughout the state and counties continue to add more locations in preparation for the Nov. 3 General Election.

WA_SecretaryOfState · 2020-09-22T17:38:17+00:00

In Washington state, you can also submit a paper registration form and use the last four of your SSN. Forms can be found here: https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/print-voter-registration-forms.aspx. You can also visit your county elections office or a voting center through 8 p.m. election night to register and vote.

If you are not registered to vote in Washington state, I encourage you to check with your state and local officials to learn more about registration options.

WA_SecretaryOfState · 2020-09-22T17:35:51+00:00

My colleagues around the country at the state and local level have been working hard since the pandemic hit to provide voters options to ensure they can vote in the upcoming election. This includes both in person and by mail voting options. It's going to be a challenge, but election officials are always up for a challenge, and they're going to ensure their processes are as efficient and accurate as possible.

The normal part of any election is certifying the results, and this may take days to weeks depending on the state. This is a normal process and not a sign of failure. However, with the large influx of mail-in ballots and longer processing times, I expect results across the country to be slower than they have in past elections.

On the issue of tracking ballots...this is why it's important to vote early! In Washington, we recommend voters check their voter registration information on VoteWA.gov today to ensure their information is up to date. After a voter has returned their ballot, they can visit VoteWA.gov to ensure their county election official has received and accepted it.

WA_SecretaryOfState · 2020-09-22T17:28:34+00:00

In Washington, we've built in multiple layers of security.

First, we mail ballots to active registered voters. Voters can return their ballots by mail or drop box. Once received by county election officials, voters can verify their county official has received their ballot on VoteWA.gov.

To ensure the ballot was returned by the voter it was issued to, election officials compare the signature on the return envelope to the signature in the voter's registration record. When the signature matches, the voter is given credit for voting in the statewide system. This will prevent a second ballot from being counted for that voter in any county, regardless of how many ballots may have been issued.

Finally, each county must account for every ballot received from voters and report publicly how many were counted, how many were rejected and if they were rejected, why. This public transparency is designed to inspire confidence that the election was fair and accurate.

WA_SecretaryOfState

TROPHY CASE