Pearson scores more drop boxes for disadvantaged communities

Sky Valley residents will have more options for casting their vote for free in all future elections.

Sen. Kirk Pearson’s authored a bill that will increase the number of ballot drop boxes, which  passed this legislative session unanimously in the senate and by a supermajority in the house. Gov. Jay Inslee signed the legislation Tuesday, May 16.

Pearson said he believes the new law will encourage voter turnout.

“I think it will, and that is not a bad thing — that is what we want,” he said.

The bill was originally drafted to combat the cost of sending in a ballot. Voters paid 68 cents to mail in their lengthy 2016 general election form.

Pearson referred to the postage as a “poll tax,” and maintains it discourages participation, and that everyone should have access to the same services. Ballot boxes are disproportionately located in larger jurisdictions, he said.

The bill requires counties to install one drop box per 15,000 registered voters in each county and in each city, town and census-designated place with a post office. In Snohomish County, the majority are set up in the county’s most populous cities, such as Everett, Monroe and Lake Stevens.

There is evidence that the county’s voters do prefer the free method.

In the 2016 general election, the Washington Secretary of State’s office counted 360,487 ballots, with 233,853 choosing to opt out of mailing in their forms, according to Snohomish County Elections.

Per the new law, Snohomish County will be getting 19 more ballot boxes, in addition to the 12 already set up, said Snohomish County Elections manager Garth Fell.

The city of Gold Bar, the town of Index, census-designated Startup and the city of Sultan will eventually have their own permanent fixtures among others, such as Mill Creek and Granite Falls. It is unclear at this point if Monroe will get another ballot box, he said.

Less populated areas where there is a disproportionate lack of ballot boxes were first on the list, Fell said. The county is trying to identify other potential locations. He said one area that will also be looked at is census-designated Maltby.

The bill requires all ballot boxes to be installed by the next election, which is the Aug. 1 primary.

Fell said all 19 containers likely will not be installed by that time. It will be closer to two, but four mobile ballot boxes will be sent out to communities already identified by the county as meeting standards set forth in the bill, he said.

Snohomish County Auditor Carolyn Weikel said previously she is in favor of more mobile drop boxes being used during an election. The approach is actually better for smaller towns because they wouldn’t be permanent. The method was very successful during the presidential election last year, she said.

It can be hard to identify installation sites in less populated communities. Schools don’t want the added unknown variable of anonymous voters on their campuses, Weikel said previously. Depending on where the ballot box is set up, it can cause gridlock, Fell said.

“We are looking for willing partners who can help us identify where we can install a box that doesn’t negatively impact the community,” he said. “You know, traffic is a big issue for us.”

Fell said the county will develop a survey that governments, public officials and community leaders will be asked to take. He said the hope is that their input will help narrow down potential locations.

The county has other concerns about the legislation aside from securing sites.

While Pearson’s bill saw support in the house and senate, county auditors expressed concerns about the price of fulfilling the requirements of the new law. Many asked the state to help pay for purchasing and setting up the ballot boxes.

Depending on what products are selected, Fell said the cost to buy and install the containers will be around $200,000. That is just for the initial expenses. Labor for maintenance, and staffing and sealing the ballot boxes on election night will add an additional $73,000 to the annual budget, he said.

“The county auditor and a number of auditors during the legislative session asked for funding to be added to this bill,” he said.

No amendments were made to follow up with the auditors’ requests, Fell said. There is still time for the funds to be added to the state’s budget, he said.

“The main opposition (to the bill) was the county auditors,” Pearson said. “They just didn’t want to do it really, they were balking at the cost and everything.”

Pearson said the estimates thrown out of $10,000 per container were too high. The figures he has seen are closer to $400, or at least there are products out there that could cost the counties as little. He said the numbers were more likely a tactic to weaken support for the bill.

Fell said it remains to be seen if the ballot boxes will accomplish what Pearson suggests. He said the county hopes to have all 19 sites selected and containers set up by the 2018 round of elections.

“It certainly will be convenient for the individuals who have been already voting that chose this as an option,” he said.