Ballot accounting for county improves

King County election officials on Tuesday reported dramatic improvement in their accounting for ballots.

Largely reversing problems that plagued previous elections, the county reported only 15 unexplained discrepancies in ballot numbers among absentee voters and 20 among poll voters in the Nov. 8 election. The managers' report came during a county Canvassing Board meeting at which election results were certified.

There were no discrepancies among provisional ballots, elections director Dean Logan said after the meeting.

Voter turnout was 547,325, or 53.9 percent of registered voters, a strong showing for an off-year election, Logan said. The Canvassing Board certified election results Tuesday.

"I think this is the closest we've ever gotten in an election. I can't verify that. It's anecdotal," said Harry Sanders, elections project manager.

Canvassing Board member Dow Constantine said ballot counts were "very close, impressively close."

King County has struggled to improve its ballot-accounting procedures since the contested 2004 governor's election.

In that election, the number of ballots counted exceeded the number of voters credited with voting by more than 1,200. More than 90 uncounted absentee ballots were discovered four months after the election.

Election officials also weren't able to fully explain a 390-vote discrepancy in absentee-ballot numbers in the September primary this year.

Logan said a number of new procedures helped the county account for ballots in this month's election. A quality-assurance officer has been hired, along with other permanent and part-time workers who investigate every discrepancy when it is discovered.

The state Legislature earlier this year also extended the time available for counting ballots and resolving discrepancies before the election is certified.

Provisional ballots — which aren't supposed to be counted on Election Day — have been redesigned so they are rejected by the counting machines in polling places.

The 2004 election was marred by the improper counting of more than 600 provisional ballots at the polls.

Provisional ballots are issued to voters who vote outside their precincts or whose names don't show up in poll books.

Despite the improvements, Sanders said it was a scramble to complete the vote count and accounting by Tuesday's deadline.

"These guys were tallying ballots until almost 1 o'clock today," he said after the Canvassing Board meeting, which started at 2 p.m.

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