Whitman County Gazette - Serving Whitman County since 1877

OLYMPIA — A Spokane lawmaker has introduced a bill to increase transparency in ballot counting.

Rep. Mike Volz, R-Spokane, filed House Bill 1708, which would require each ballot to have a unique 16 digit serial number embedded on a removable portion of the ballot.

Under the bill, the number would not be tied to a specific voter, but rather tied to the specific ballot.

The voter would then be able to use this serial number in an online portal administered by the Office of the Secretary of State to view an electronic record of all the votes cast on their ballot, Volz said.

“For some voter...