Shoreline Council member isn't accepting decision to keep her off the ballot

A Shoreline City Council member who missed the deadline to file for re-election will not get her name on the ballot, King County Elections decided Tuesday.

Councilmember Janet Way said officials failed to find any problems with their computer system, even though she is convinced her filing didn't go through because of a computer glitch. Instead, they concluded her filing would not be accepted because of her failure to submit a payment for the form.

"The thing is, I'm not accepting their decision," said Way, who wants a second term on the Shoreline council. "I feel like the people who voted for me have the right to have me on the ballot, and I intend to fight for that right."

Megan Coppersmith, spokeswoman for King County Elections, said Way's next best option is to run as a write-in candidate. However, Way said she's going to continue trying to persuade the county to print her name on the Aug. 18 primary ballot.

Candidates had Monday through Friday of last week to file with the county.

Way said she tried filing at 3:27 p.m. on Friday, but the computer system wouldn't accept her $82 payment. After trying for more than an hour to resolve the problem, she missed the 4 p.m. online filing deadline.

Since the elections office was accepting forms by fax or in person until 4:30 p.m., Way said she tried to fax a notarized copy of the form. But on the way to the notary, she got stuck in traffic and could not meet that deadline, either.

Although Way isn't sure what she's going to do, she said she's not ready to give up.

"They're wrong — I filed, they just wouldn't take my money," Way said. "They need to put me on the ballot."

Jean Guerrero: 206-464-2311 or jguerrero@seattletimes.com