20 votes could decide 4 Franklin races, so why the ballot count delay?
With at least four Franklin County races and a levy measure still hanging in the balance, the auditor’s office will wait until the week of Thanksgiving to count hundreds of its remaining ballots.
The next ballot tally report is not scheduled until 5 p.m. Nov. 24.
Franklin County officials said Friday they have 437 ballots left to count from across the county, not including some 200 challenged ballots.
Officials say they must wait to have a minimum of 500 ballots to release a new count under Washington state law.
However, the County Auditor Matt Beaton has the legal authority to allow fewer to be counted, but he told the Herald on Friday he doesn’t plan to.
That means candidates in several nail-biter races in the county must wait over two more weeks to learn who will take office.
Just two votes separate candidates in one Connell City Council race, and a Kahlotus race has just a four-vote difference.
Close races in the county
The Pasco City Council District 6 race shows incumbent Councilwoman Melissa Blasdel losing to challenger Calixto Hernandez by 63 votes, or 8%.
Blasdel declined to comment about the race, but indicated that she does not have a problem with the vote count being later.
In north Franklin County two races are much tighter. Fire District No. 1’s chance at a levy lid lift is passing by with just 9 votes. If it fails, the fire district is limited to a 1% annual budget increase without voter approval.
The fire agency serves more than 2,500 rural residents across a sprawling 411 square miles in north Franklin County. The levy — the district’s only source of recurring revenue — has declined in recent years as costs for service and labor have gone up.
There is a 19 vote difference in the race for Connell City Council at-large position 1.
But two other council positions have even tighter races with a nine vote difference in the Position 4 race and just a two votes separate the candidates in the race for an at-large position.
There is also a Kahlotus race with a difference of four votes between candidates.
It’s unclear how many of the remaining ballots would apply to those close races.
Why aren’t the ballots being counted?
Franklin County auditor Matt Beaton said the county’s elections are “very transparent” and that the threshold exists to protect voter anonymity on the state’s reports. As the county continues to receive ballots, voter information will populate in the countywide reports.
This has happened before, for example, in the Aug. 2024 election.
Elections administrative assistant Suleima Wallwin told the Tri-City Herald that there are 367 ballots left that are “good to count,” 45 that are on hold because of administrative issues like a damaged barcode. Plus another 200 were left unsigned by voters, had a signature mismatch or fell into a different “challenge code” category, she said.
Beaton said that voters are being contacted if they have challenged ballots.
The elections office will mail a signature update form, call or email if the voter provided the office with contact information. Voters can also contact the office or visit in person at the Franklin County Auditor’s Office at 1016 N 4th Ave., Pasco.
Beaton could still request that some ballots get counted. But he said his office “very rarely” counts below 500 ballots because it risks identifying who’s voted in the latest count.
Wallwin said that candidates and voters have been calling the Auditor’s Office for an explanation for the delay.
Though the public may be eager to see results, she said, “Patience is a virtue.”
To check the status of your ballot to make sure it was counted, visit voter.votewa.gov. Find missing signature and signature update forms on the Franklin County Auditor’s Office website to authenticate your ballot. Call 509-545-3538 or email elections@franklincountywa.gov.
