Voters who cast their ballots by mail will have the assurance of knowing the secrecy of their vote will be preserved, under a new policy adopted today by the Metropolitan King County Council.

“The Washington State Constitution guarantees all citizens the right to cast a secret ballot,” said Councilmember Dow Constantine, prime sponsor of the motion. “We must protect this right by accurately tracking the return and signature verification of every voter’s sealed envelope, while ensuring that the ballot inside cannot later be connected with a particular voter.”

“Citizens have a right to cast a secret ballot and it is among the highest priorities for King County’s election system to protect their privacy,” said Councilmember Larry Phillips. “The policy set forth by this motion allows voters to track their ballots through the mail and the signature verification process, while ensuring that how they vote on issues and candidates remains a private matter.”

“As we continue to improve the County elections system, we must take particular care to ensure that citizens have the freedom to vote as they choose, and how they vote cannot be traced,” said Councilmember Bob Ferguson, a co-sponsor of the motion. “This legislation helps ensure this goal as we move toward implementing new technology in our elections system.”

When the Council in 2006 authorized a countywide vote-by-mail system, one of its conditions was implementation of an online system to allow voters to track their ballot envelope from the mailbox to the Elections Section, so they can be sure the postal service properly delivered their ballot for counting.

The motion approved today by the Council establishes a policy that no barcodes, numbers, or other identifying marks can be placed on the ballot itself that could be used to link an individual voter to his or her ballot. The motion also states that the county’s highest priority during elections is to preserve the secrecy of individual ballots and ensure an accurate vote count.

Read more about this legislation on the King County Council’s LEGISEARCH system.
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