Councilmember misses re-election filing deadline due to system 'glitch'

A Shoreline City Council member says she was blocked from filing for re-election last week because the King County Elections Web site was malfunctioning and didn't allow her to complete her form.

An attorney for Councilmember Janet Way said Monday that she tried filing between 3 and 4 p.m. last Friday, thinking the process would take less than three minutes. After filling out the form, she pressed OK, said attorney Knoll Lowney. It didn't go through.

Candidates had Monday through Friday of last week to file with the county. The online filing deadline was 4 p.m. Friday.

Way did not return calls Monday but issued a statement saying she felt confident her name would appear on the Aug. 18 primary ballot. Way is in her first term on the City Council.

Megan Coppersmith, spokeswoman for King County Elections, said her office will determine today if there was a glitch in the computer system. As of Monday, none was found.

Of the 462 people who filed online, she said 93 did so Friday. Like Way, 20 of them filed between 3 and 4 p.m. No one else reported a problem.

"If we do find a glitch, we'll certainly accept her candidacy," Coppersmith said.

If not, the next best option for Way would be to file as a write-in candidate, she said.

"Even the most sophisticated institutions have hiccups in their computer systems and Web sites from time to time," Lowney said. "It doesn't result in throwing a person out of office."

Way filled out the first three parts of the form without any problems, he said, but the computer system wouldn't accept her $84 payment.

Immediately, she called the elections office for help, Lowney said. She was told to try different payment methods, including an electronic check and different credit cards, but nothing worked.

"It's very unfortunate that it happened, but there were other options she could have taken advantage of," Coppersmith said.

Although online candidate filing closed at 4 p.m., the office accepted applications by fax or in person until 4:30.

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

The information in this article, originally published Juen 9, 2009, was corrected July 15, 2009. Stories Monday and Tuesday on City Council member Janet Way's attempt to file her re-election candidacy with King County Elections incorrectly stated the filing fee. It is $84. The error was due to incorrect information from the county.