Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Spokane postal plant loses track of ballots
COLFAX — Registered voters in Whitman County are expressing concerns regarding the distribution of ballots for the upcoming General Election on Nov. 5.
Reports indicate between 200 and 300 ballots are unaccounted for, as only 99.6% of ballots were successfully processed.
County officials confirmed that issues occurred during the distribution phase, despite all ballots being processed at the Spokane plant on Wednesday, Oct. 16.
Whitman County Auditor Sandy Jamison noted that while the United States Postal Service (USPS) marked the ballots as “successfully scanned,” some voters have not yet received theirs.
“I do not have information on that. I heard some P.O. Box ones were missing, but I haven’t really heard anything about it,” said Colfax Postmaster Travis Rollins.
Jamison indicated that the missing ballots could be limited to residents with P.O. boxes in the town of Garfield.
In response to the situation, state officials are collaborating with the USPS to investigate the distribution route of the missing ballots, escalating the matter to higher-level USPS administration in Washington State.
“It seems as though the problem lies in the distribution process at the Spokane postal plant. We can confirm the ballots were brought there. After they were successfully scanned, they lost track of them,” Jamison explained. “They are investigating. I have pushed this up to the state level. They should report back to me pronto.”
Kim Frum, a USPS Strategic Communications Specialist, stated that the USPS is reviewing the issue but could not provide additional information.
“What I can tell you is that we are aware of the concern and are reviewing the issue with the county. I am giving all the information that I can provide. That is all I have available,” Frum said.
Voters who have not received their ballots can contact the elections office at (509) 397-5284 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to request a replacement.
Additionally, voters can print a replacement ballot by logging into VoteWA.gov.
“I do not know who did receive their ballot,” Jamison remarked. “If you haven’t received a ballot, please contact our elections office. You can also go online and request a replacement ballot.”
This issue adds to a series of election-related problems facing Washington State voters.
On the west side of the state, two arsons occurred at ballot drop boxes in Portland, Ore., and Vancouver, Wash., just 15 miles apart on Monday, Oct. 28.
This is not the first instance of missing ballots in Whitman County.
The Whitman County Gazette reported on November 9, 2023, that 5,000 new ballots were mailed out to voters in rural precincts and wards 1 and 2 in Pullman who received ballots for the wrong voting precinct due to a sorting error by the county’s ballot distribution vendor.
Olivia Harnack is a Journalist at the Whitman County Gazette. Olivia is enrolled at University of Idaho and is majoring in digital film studies. She serves in the United States Army National Guard and is proud to serve Whitman County.
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