Not all absentee ballots have been sent out yet

By Keith Ervin
Seattle Times staff reporter

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More ballots will be mailed today and the rest will go out Monday, said Dean Logan, director of records, elections and licensing services.

Election workers will work over the weekend to fill up to 16,000 remaining requests for absentee ballots from new voters and voters whose names or addresses have changed.

After catching up with the absentee requests, the county will resume registration of another estimated 19,000 poll voters. The county will continue to register voters through Monday.

FACTS Voter registration Voters can register for the Nov. 2 election through Monday at King County Elections or at the Vote Mobile, a joint project with the League of Women Voters. The election office will be open today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Monday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. The office is in Suite 553 in the King County Administration Building, 500 Fourth Ave., Seattle. Here is the Vote Mobile schedule: • 10 a.m. to 12 noon today, Bartell Drugs, 9600 15th Ave. S.W., Seattle • 2 to 5 p.m. today, Gilman Village, 317 N.W. Gilman Blvd., Issaquah • 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. tomorrow, Uwajimaya, 600 Fifth Ave. S., Seattle • 2 to 5 p.m. tomorrow, Train Court entrance to Super Mall, 1101 Super Mall Way, Auburn • 6 to 9 a.m. Monday, south brick plaza at Seattle Central Community College, 1701 Broadway, Seattle • 10 a.m. to noon Monday, clock tower plaza, South Seattle Community College, 6000 16th Ave. S.W., Seattle • 3 to 4 p.m. Monday, INS Naturalization Ceremony, 12500 Tukwila International Blvd., Tukwila

Logan said the numbers show the county has overcome the problems that led to the mailing of tens of thousands of ballots two weeks late for the 2002 general election. Some voters didn't receive ballots until Election Day or after the election.

But whether the county met its statutory deadline this year is a matter of legal interpretation. State law requires that counties mail absentee ballots at least 18 days before the election, which will be held on Nov. 2.

For requests received within 19 days of the election, ballots are to be mailed within two business days.

If a county misses either deadline, it is required to notify the Secretary of State and the press, as well as submit a report on why the deadline was missed and what corrective actions will be taken in future elections.

After consulting with the Prosecuting Attorney's Office and the Secretary of State's Office in Olympia, Logan said he concluded the mailing deadline applies only to voters whose names already have been entered into the registration system.

He said the law is intended to insure ballots are mailed by the deadline to previously registered voters.

"They're not technically a voter until we enter them" into the registration system, Logan said.

John Pearson, state deputy director of elections, said state law gives counties some leeway in processing large numbers of new registrants. "I don't think the law envisions folks doing the impossible. ... I think the law envisions giving them time to get (new voters) into the system to determine the ballot they get and make sure they get the right ones."

Pearson said no counties have notified his office of missed deadlines.

Keith Ervin: 206-464-2105 or kervin@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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