Suspicious envelope shuts down Benton ballot counting for hours
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Election center temporarily closed after staff found a suspicious envelope Tuesday.
- Center reopened ~3:30 p.m.; results still due about 8:10 p.m., on schedule.
- Sheriff’s Office took possession of the envelope and is actively investigating.
The Benton County Election Center stopped counting ballots and closed down for about a half day on Tuesday after discovering a suspicious envelope.
Election officials told the Tri-City Herald they were able to reopen about 3:30 p.m. and will remain open until 8 p.m. for voters to submit their ballots and update their registration.
Election night results also will be posted at the usual time, about 8:10.
“We always have the safety and security of our team at the forefront, and try to balance that with making sure we get the ballots processed timely and the results processed timely and accurately,” Benton County Auditor Brenda Chilton told the Herald.
Investigators with the Benton County Sheriff’s Office asked her office to be careful about releasing details about the unusual ballot envelope while they investigate the incident.
The election team found the unusual envelope about 11 a.m. and immediately closed the facility out of an abundance of caution, she said. The envelope was part of a batch of ballots picked up by workers Tuesday morning from their Richland Post Office box.
“Our staff recognized it as unusual,” Chilton said. “It did not arrive in the format you would normally expect a ballot envelope to come in.”
Election workers began their safety protocols, and notified security personnel at the county and at the Washington Secretary of State’s Office.
Chilton said an election administrator isolated the envelope in a plastic bag and handled it with gloves. The sheriff’s office has since taken possession of it.
This incident won’t impact the timely and accurate counting of ballots on Election Day, she said.
Benton County has already collected, processed and checked the signatures of ballots it received over the weekend, and those will be tabulated on time Tuesday night.
There are few outstanding ballots left to count that will arrive by drop boxes and in the mail.
The auditor’s office will continue to provide updates as they become available, Chilton said.
Tuesday’s election in Benton and Franklin counties included several school levy measures and a library vote in Pasco.
This story was originally published February 10, 2026 at 6:41 PM.
