Election workers study line by line to verify Richland recall signatures
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Richland School Board Recall Effort
A high-profile group of voters filed to recall board members Semi Bird, Audra Byrd and Kari Williams after their controversial vote to make face masks optional.
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Benton County election workers are continuing to work this week on verifying the signatures gathered on recall petitions in an attempt to remove three Richland School Board members.
If there are enough valid voter signatures, then the issue will be put on the Aug. 1 ballot for voters to decide.
The three board members are Semi Bird, Audra Byrd and Kari Williams.
Verification involves going line by line, page by page to check each name, signature and date of birth to make sure it matches with voter registration records.
Workers started on Thursday, May 11, and it is expected to take about 10 days.
Benton County Auditor Brenda Chilton said her employees should have no trouble meeting the deadline.
The recall campaign needed to collect the signatures of 25% of the number of votes cast in the last election that each of the board members was involved in.
Nearly 18,700 total signatures were gathered in about 75 days after the Washington State Supreme Court said the recall could proceed.
This story was originally published May 16, 2023 at 11:57 AM.
