New ballot box bill could cost the county $62,000

Jana Mathia, Gazette Reporter | Jun 29, 20170

A new law coming out of the legislature, labeled the ballot box bill, has local officials wondering and could leave the county with an added $62,000 expense.

County Auditor Eunice Coker described it as “very bad legislation.”

Officially marked as Senate Bill 5472, it was introduced by Sen. Kirk Pearson, King County Republican. The new law requires a ballot box be available in all incorporated towns and cities. The aim is to reduce the need for voters to pay the cost of a stamp in order to cast a vote.

Previously, counties have been required to have one box per 15,000 registered voters and in any city or town with 1,000 or more registered voters. Under the law, Whitman County was only required to have two postage-free drop boxes, but officially installed five with one inside the Elections Office in Colfax, one in the alley behind the Public Service Building, one outside the WSU CUB, one across the street from Pullman City Hall and one inside Pullman City Hall.

The county was also in the process of putting a box in Palouse which has seen enough growth to qualify for its own box under the former law.

The ballot box bill would mean 14 additional boxes to be placed in Whitman County. But it doesn’t clarify the size or structure of the boxes. Installation of 14 large metal boxes, each on a concrete base, would cost the county upwards of $62,000, none of which would be paid by the state.

Last week Coker met with Whitman County commissioners and Prosecutor Denis Tracy about the bill, implementation and ramifications. Later that week Tracy went to Chelan to meet with state and county officials on the topic.

Right now everyone is still trying to find answers to all the details and questions and still waving around different options. Standing law requires ballot boxes be closed by two people at 8 p.m. on election days. That could mean 28 additional people in Whitman County who are trained and vetted to perform the task in sync.

One alternate would be to have one local person lock the box at each site at 8 p.m. and two officials to collect all the ballots the next day.

Coker and other county officials are looking at how to comply with the new law without much added expense. She said she expects amendments to be proposed as other counties are also struggling, some with geographical, financial and resource hurdles.

“Right now it’s an issue and it’s not over,” she said.