Questions Remain After Hand-Recount Certification in Primary Election for WA Commissioner of Public Lands

Bellevue, WA - Today’s state certification of the hand recount in the primary election for WA Commissioner of Public Lands leaves many questions unanswered. The hand recount, however, is useful as a starting point for auditing Washington state elections. Those concerned about election integrity should be encouraged by the questions it raises.

Among the questions: Why were some counties able to recount their ballots by hand in a day or two, while others struggled to finish their hand recounts on time? Why did so many county auditors reject cured ballots that they should have accepted? Why were certain ballots initially counted that were upon recount, instead “undervotes” that shouldn’t have been counted at all? Why are some counties using online “apps” to cure ballots when state law clearly says that’s not legal?

The Washington State Republican Party (WAGOP) intends to find answers to these questions in the coming days.

Most urgently, the WAGOP believes that some of these answers could affect the outcome of today’s certification of the hand recount.

The WAGOP is keeping all options open for responding to today’s certification from the WA Secretary of State. The Party may file lawsuits challenging the certification. It may also file lawsuits challenging specific county recounts. Or the Party may focus on improving recount processes, going forward.

While the hand recount hasn’t resolved issues around elections in our state, it begins the process. It shows us where the problems are in the current system. And it suggests where we should focus on fixing those problems in the very near future.

The WAGOP is committed to fixing those problems.