WA election chief defends mail-in voting, tours new Tri-Cities voting center
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- WA Secretary of State Hobbs rejects DOJ request for sensitive voter roll data.
- Benton County debuts upgraded 5,900-square-foot voting facility for 2025.
- GOP-backed initiative seeks citizenship proof for voter registration in WA.
Despite threats from the White House to end mail-in voting systems around the U.S., Washington state election officials say the convenient system for turning in your ballot is here to stay.
Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs also says he’s not going to risk voter privacy and sensitive information after the U.S. Department of Justice on Sept. 8 requested his office to turn over voter rolls that included home addresses and partial Social Security numbers.
On Thursday, Hobbs toured Benton County’s new 5,900-square-foot elections center as part of a statewide tour of elections facilities. Local election officials here highlighted the facility’s new security and operational features, as well as room for future needs and growth.
The building is a remodel of the old Kennewick Fire Station 3 originally built in 1978, which is located near the Benton County Justice Center at 7122 West Okanogan Place. It opened in October 2024.
Benton County Auditor Brenda Chilton says the new facility will serve their election needs over the next 20 years in one of the fastest growing regions in the state of Washington.
The next election is the general held on Tuesday, Nov. 4. Voters can register online at vote.wa.gov.
Between 2014 and 2024, the number of registered voters here grew by 33%. There are now more than 132,000 voters in Benton County, which is due to soon surpass neighboring Yakima County.
“When I started, we had roughly 70,000 registered voters. That was 27 years ago. And so, we’re approaching doubling that,” Chilton said.
Throughout that time Chilton has seen the evolution as elections systems and technology have gotten more advance. Processes have also changed, especially after vote-by-mail was established as a permanent option for counties in 2005 and a requirement in 2011.
But Chilton says it’s still important to create opportunities for voters who don’t like to submit their ballot by mail or through a certified drop box. About 60,000 voters choose to submit their ballot in-person at their local elections center, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
“Vote-by-mail is not popular with everybody,” said Chilton, the county’s four-time elected Republican auditor. “I still believe it’s the most efficient system that’s out there, that’s available to us right now, and I don’t think there’s any going back for the state of Washington. But what we’re trying to do is make sure that voters know that they have options.”
Washington Republicans are also teeing up a legislative initiative that could have seismic impacts on Washington’s process to register voters.
They’re currently gathering signatures for a proposal that would require proof of U.S. citizenship — either by showing a birth certificate, naturalized papers, passports or enhanced license — in order to register to vote.
Voters in Washington are already required to affirm their citizenship on their registration and ballot. Critics argue the proposed measure would be a seismic change for the state’s elections system, kicking qualified voters off the rolls and deterring new voters from registering.
Washington State Republican Party Chairman Jim Walsh says they will need 309,000 signatures to advance Initiative to the Legislature 126, or IL-26. If they meet their January deadline, it’ll go to the state Legislature for consideration during the 2026 session. If they decline to act, voters will decide on it at the ballot box.
Proponents have already gathered about a third of the needed signatures and are beginning a largescale canvassing operation.
“It’s trending the right way,” Walsh told the Tri-City Herald.
New digs at Benton County
New rooms for servers, tabulation, ballot storage, observation and a lobby are among the new digs at Benton County’s new facility.
The large processing space — which used to be a dual bay for fire engines, but is now filled with tables, chairs and a 16-pocket ballot sorter — steals the show. Affixed high on a wall in the room is an American flag fashioned out of painted fire hoses to pay tribute to the first responders who used the building.
Hobbs, a Democrat, says the facility is “a great upgrade” from the former Chuck E. Cheese building off North Columbia Drive.
“I really like how she’s designed it, the clear observation, how she’s got the tabulation machine sequestered in the corner over there. This is really great,” he said.
Hobbs says it’s a struggle to maintain funding for Washington’s nation-leading elections systems, especially with budget shortfalls in the state Legislature and the Trump Administration playing an adversarial role to vote-by-mail.
Hobbs’ office had to lay off 22 employees in its central and rural library systems due to cuts in the 2025 Washington operating budget.
The Department of Justice just this week sued the states of Maine and Oregon over their refusal to hand over sensitive voter role data.
They’re the first two Democratic-controlled states to face legal action after the DOJ requested Washington and 25 states hand over their voter information, which includes names, birthdays, home addresses, driver’s license or Social Security numbers, within two weeks.
Hobbs says the department says they’re checking to see if states are compliant with data management and the Civil Rights Act, but he’s seen reports that suggest the information may be used to further the administration’s historic immigration enforcement operations.
He’s willing to work with the administration to verify information, but he says he’s not handing over that data and he’s willing to risk a lawsuit.
“There’s really no reason for them to really ask for this information,” Hobbs said. “There is a way to get it publicly, and maybe that’s the route we go, but I am not going to give them our restricted information.”
“People want privacy. People want certain pieces of information restricted,” he continued. “As secretary of state, I’m obligated to protect the privacy of my citizens.”
Hobbs was also joined on the tour by state Rep. Stephanie Barnard, R-Kennewick, and state Sen. Perry Dozier, R-Prescott. The event was an opportunity for Washington lawmakers to see the facility first hand after missing out on a January ribbon cutting because of their commitments in Olympia.
This story was originally published September 18, 2025 at 2:46 PM.
