‘Very rare’ election to recall Benton sheriff could cost county up to $250,000

An election to recall Sheriff Jerry Hatcher could end up costing Benton County $200,000 to $250,000

Auditor Brenda Chilton — who based her estimate on the November 2019 general election — said countywide elections are expensive when factoring in staff time, ballot production, postage, advertising and transportation.

But Chilton doesn’t yet know if a special election is needed.

The Benton County Auditor’s Office will begin the process Wednesday to verify the 16,552 petition signatures turned in last Friday by the “Committee to Recall Sheriff Hatcher.”

Hatcher is accused in eight charges of intimidating witnesses and public servants in investigations, retaliating against them, tampering with physical evidence and violating his oath of office.

The sheriff has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has insisted he will be exonerated of any criminal allegations.

The recall petition was started last year by sheriff’s Sgt. Jason Erickson.

At least 13,937 valid signatures of registered Benton County voters are needed for the petition to be certified as sufficient.

Once that threshold is met, Chilton can call an election. The “when” all depends on how long it takes signatures checkers to go through the 822 submitted pages.

The earliest a “special circumstances election” could be held at this point is June 22, Chilton told the Tri-City Herald. The next option would be the Aug. 3 primary ballot.

Open to observers

The verification and canvass process is expected to take five to 10 days.

Auditor’s Office employees will work 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each business day, including this Saturday if necessary, until finished, said Chilton.

The public is welcome to view the signature checking at Richland’s Benton County Voting Center, 2610 N. Columbia Center Blvd., but must follow social distancing and other COVID-19 protocols.

Chilton said she’s heard from a handful of Hatcher’s supporters that they plan to watch the process.

Hatcher has been the sheriff since May 2017, when his predecessor Steve Keane retired early to focus on his health.

Hatcher’s term is up at the end of 2022. Elected officials can only step down voluntarily or be removed from office in a county election.

He has denied the allegations levied against him by Erickson and the Benton County Deputy Sheriff’s Guild, and appealed the petition to the Washington state Supreme Court.

16,500+ in 6 months

Erickson previously served as a former lieutenant, but demoted himself in February 2020. His petition alleged 26 violations of Washington state law and the sheriff’s oath of office before it was reviewed by the Benton County Prosecutor’s Office and whittled down to eight charges for a ballot synopsis.

“Sheriff Hatcher has demonstrated a pattern of willful misconduct by ... discrediting and disgracing the Benton County Sheriff’s Office and degrading the public’s trust,” Erickson wrote in submitting his petition request last summer.

The proposed ballot synopsis was approved by a Walla Walla County Superior Court judge in August, followed by a unanimous ruling by the state’s highest court in November that allowed the recall to proceed.

The recall committee had six months to gather enough signatures, which were turned over to the Auditor’s Office two weeks shy of the deadline.

Recalls are rare

Chilton said this is the first time a recall petition has made it this far in the 23 years she’s worked in the county office.

She noted there were two recall attempts against Benton City Mayor Bryan Robinson, one against the late Steve Young over his time as Kennewick mayor, and one against current Kennewick Mayor Don Britain.

None of the petitions in those recall attempts made it past the judicial process.

“It is very rare. The hurdles are high and for good reason,” said Chilton. “You shouldn’t be able to recall an elected official, who was voted in by the people, easily. The Legislature builds in steps to ensure (the petition) is properly vetted ... before making it to the ballot.”

The auditor added that the jurisdiction in which the elected official facing recall serves is responsible for paying all costs of the recall. In this case, that means Benton County.

And since it would be a countywide election, that would mean higher costs to make and mail the ballots beforehand and to transport the ballots from collection boxes on election night.

Chilton said she and Elections Manager Amanda Hatfield have selected the office’s “most experienced signature verifiers” to participate in this process.

They will be working together over the coming days going page-by page, line-by-line, checking each name, date of birth and signature on the petition against the registration record in their system.

“It’s just a tedious process of searching for the person’s name, checking to make sure it’s the right person, comparing their signature and then moving to the next one,” said Chilton.

Once they have 13,937 signatures verified, she said she will certify the petition immediately and turn to scheduling the election date.

Chilton said the ballot will include the synopsis with the eight court-approved charges, a 200-word response from Hatcher, and the recall question with the option to choose “Yes” or “No.”

If the recall result is in the affirmative, meaning the voters choose to remove Hatcher, he will have to vacate his office the day that Chilton certifies the election, she said.