Franklin County rejected highest percent of 2020 election ballots in WA state

Franklin County had the highest percentage of ballots rejected in Washington state during the 2020 election.

The Washington State Auditor’s Office released a 69-page report to the Legislature that showed the likelihood of getting a ballot rejected was more linked to where the ballot was cast than any other factor.

While state auditors were looking at the issues statewide, the report doesn’t focus on any one county.

The analysis, requested by state lawmakers, also found that younger voters, men and people of color were more likely to have their ballots rejected.

While Franklin County had the highest rejection rate, the state report did not examine the demographics of those who were rejected there.

Its report on demographics came from examining 10 counties more closely — five with higher rejection rates and five with lower rejection rates. Franklin County wasn’t part of that examination. But Benton County was one of them.

However, the report did not give specifics of the results from any of the counties.

County differences

State Auditor Pat McCarthy told the Seattle Times that the difference between the counties was a concern, and it shouldn’t matter where you live and who you are.

Franklin County rejected 538 ballots of the nearly 42,000 ballots cast during the 2020 general election.

That turned out to be 1.5% of ballots — nearly twice the statewide average of 0.72%. Benton County ballot rejections were 0.72%.

“While the statewide report has a table indicating Franklin County as having the highest rejection rate in 2020, that distinction typically changes every year,” Franklin County Auditor Matt Beaton told the Tri-City Herald.

The audit also noted there were “few discernible patterns to explain differences in rejection rates.”

Most of the ballots rejected in Franklin County, 387, were for having a signature that didn’t match the one on file.

Those ballots are reviewed by people specially trained to compare a signature on the ballot with the signature on file with the voter’s registration. If they don’t match, they are then sent to a supervisor.

The office then sends a letter asking the voter to fix it. And if it still has a problem three days before the election is certified, the auditor’s office staff tries to call the voter.

Beaton suggested they should look at more frequently updating voter signature files as a way to help alleviate the issue.

Washington state

Snohomish County rejected 0.99% of ballots cast and King County rejected 0.86%, according to the Seattle Times.

Pierce County rejected 0.63% of ballots cast, Spokane County rejected 0.46%, and Columbia County had the lowest rejection rate, at .04% of ballots cast.

The audit followed years of discussion in Olympia about access to voting, and more recently questions from conservatives about the processes that elections use.

The Legislature set aside money in 2020 to look at the state’s rejection rate and possible differences between counties and different groups of Washington voters.

Washington state is one of a few that votes entirely by mail. It’s a process that has been used for more than a decade.

In all, the 39 counties rejected fewer than 30,000 ballots of the 4.2 million cast. The audit estimated 98.7% of the decisions were correct.

“Overall, ballots appear to have been accepted or rejected appropriately, but counties with lower rejection rates appeared more willing to accept less conclusive signatures,” according to the audit report.

The audit suggests that language barriers, changing signatures and unfamiliarity with voting by mail could contribute to the rejected ballots.

The audit calls for increased voter outreach and more education about signature requirements.

The 10 counties the state focused on all met state requirements for reviewing and fixing ballot issues.

Racial differences

Statewide, white voters have the lowest ballot rejection rate, and auditors found a statistically significant difference in rejection rates between white voters and every other ethnic and racial group.

Whites had 0.63% of their ballots rejected, while Hispanics had 1.57% of their ballots rejected.

Last year, the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Latino Community Fund, along with Benton County resident Marissa Reyes, sued Benton, Yakima and Chelan counties about disparities in when Latino ballots were being rejected.

Three officials in each of the counties also were named, including Auditor Brenda Chilton, Prosecutor Andy Miller and Commissioner Jerome Delvin for Benton County. Those three make up the Benton County Canvassing Review Board, which technically certifies the results and can call for a review of any problems.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Washington, said more than 4,500 Latino voters were denied their right to vote in the 2020 elections.

And it argued that Hispanic voters were on average 3 times more likely than Anglo voters to be rejected because of a mismatched signature.

That suit claimed Benton County rejections in that election were near the state average of 3 times more likely not to be counted, while Chelan County was 3.2 times likely to be rejected and Yakima County was 3.9 times.

Franklin County was not named in that lawsuit.

Reyes — the suit’s lead plaintiff when it was filed in May — and the Latino Community Fund are no longer parties in the civil action.

Court records show they were “terminated” from the suit on Nov. 23, but do not give a reason.

An amended complaint now names Cinthia Alvarez Lucatero of Benton County, Jesse Reyes of Chelan County and Daniel Reynoso of Yakima County.

The document also includes the Latino Community Fund of Washington, specifying that this is the statewide organization “that invests in community based non-profit organizations that serve to educate, increase civic participation, improve health outcomes, and improve economic, social and technological development for all Washingtonians.”

The League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC, has been the one constant plaintiff throughout the lawsuit.

A bench trial recently was pushed out to June 2023. That means Judge Mary K. Dimke, and not a jury, will listen to witness testimony and review the evidence before making a decision.

This story was originally published February 3, 2022 at 12:57 PM.