Commissioners join challenge against state's ballot box bill

Jana Mathia, Gazette Reporter | Jul 27, 20170

Passage of Senate Bill 5472, known as the Ballot Box Bill, has officials throughout Washington up in arms, including Whitman County commissioners.

“This (bill) robs services from our people,” said Commissioner Michael Largent, who described himself as foaming at the mouth over this legislation.

Commissioners July 17 signed an order pledging support of efforts to challenge the bill. The order authorized “investigating participating in a joint effort with other counties, including a possible lawsuit against the State of Washington... .”

At the signing of the order, commissioners expressed strong feelings about the bill and its implications.

“It was breathtakingly poorly conceived,” Largent said.

The July 17 order gives the county prosecutor authorization and direction from the commissioners regarding the matter. The commissioners, auditor and prosecutor have met with their peers in other counties about how to respond to the bill.

The Ballot Box Bill could leave Whitman County with a $62,000 expense.

Introduced by a senator from King County, the bill requires a ballot drop box in all communities.

Previously, counties had to have one box per 15,000 registered voters and in any city with 1,000 or more registered voters.

Under the previous law, Whitman County was only required to have two postage-free drop boxes not located near each other.

Whitman County has one inside the Elections Office, behind the Public Service Building, outside the Compton Union Building at WSU, across the street from Pullman City Hall and inside Pullman City Hall.

The county was already in the process of putting a box in Palouse, which has seen enough growth to qualify for its own box.

The Ballot Box Bill would require 14 additional boxes to be placed in Whitman County. It does not specify a size or structure.

A large security-type box mounted in concrete on a one-way street with all the proper application would cost the county upward of $62,000.

Largent noted the additional cost in staffing to fulfill the bill requirements is one of the biggest issues. Forcing “cash-strapped counties” to meet the bill’s demands without providing the state funding by which to do so puts public safety and public health in jeopardy, he said.

He cited a release for the Washington State Association of Counties that stated “an arbitrary 1 percent property revenue cap has made it nearly insurmountable for many Washington counties and cities to fund public safety and other critical services. Meanwhile, the cost to provide these essential government services has outpaced revenue by 3-5 percent year over year.”

Largent noted that the Association of Counties asked Gov. Jay Inslee to veto the bill which was rushed through the legislature. He signed off on the bill but said it needed to be funded.

One option for responding to the unfunded mandate is a lawsuit against the state from the counties. The option has been discussed informally among county officials, but specific action has not been determined at this time.

The bill was spawned from a representative’s belief that affixing a stamp to mail a ballot was the equivalent of a poll tax.

“The logic is not sound,” Largent said, noting the county pays for ballots put in the mail without a stamp. He added that the belief was this bill would improve voting, but there was not evidence of that.

“I think people appreciate having a polling place right outside their door at their mailbox,” he said.

Ninth District Representatives Joe Schmick, Colfax, and Mary Dye, Pomeroy, voted against the bill.