Mail your vote on a napkin? Election official in Washington state says that counts
SEATTLE (TND) - If a voter were to write their vote on a napkin and mail it in, then in the state of Washington that vote would be counted.
That's according to an election official that was answering questions during a review panel in Seattle.
The panel was reviewing ballots and voting attempts that were denied for a variety of reasons. One of the improper voting attempts shown was allegedly trying to vote for a Democrat mayoral candidate.
That improper attempt came in the form of an envelope that was missing a ballot. Instead, there was a newspaper clipping of the Democrat candidate for mayor that, at the bottom, had a couple of pen marks.
One pen mark appeared to be a plus sign. The other mark appeared to be a "V" or a check mark.
Regardless of what those marks may have meant, the attempt was a failure and the vote was not counted.
However, this led to a question from a trainee during the panel.
"So, even if someone took a napkin and wrote the office, the race, and their selection, that would be enough?" the trainee asks.
"That would be enough and we would count that as a vote," said an election official.
The question and answer were both caught on video and posted to social media by reporter Katie Daviscourt, who writes for the Post Millennial.
"WOW! During a review board, officials in Seattle admit that if someone were to write a candidates name on a napkin their vote would be counted," said Daviscourt in her tweet.
In her write up of the incident, Daviscourt reports that Washington is a "voter intent" state by law.
"This means that voters are not disenfranchised if they mark a ballot differently than directed. When voter intent can be discerned, the vote will be counted," reports Daviscourt.
