The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for March 20, 2025
Washington State implemented their universal vote-by-mail system in 2013, and built in signature-matching for identity verification. A March ruling by the state supreme court upholds that rule as constitutional because voters can cure discrepancies.
Before the 2022 midterms, a state-commissioned audit found that younger voters, voters of color, and non-English speakers were far more likely to have their ballots rejected, and the rate of rejection varied by county.
Two recent lawsuits challenged the signature matching rule, claiming that the lack of handwriting standards and the inconsistent science for signature verification, resulted in the rejection of 4,500 Hispanic ballots in the 2020 primary, and 36,000 ballots from all voters in the 2022 midterms.
In the court’s recent opinion, Justice Steven C. González acknowledged those rejections: “All too many ballots are not counted because election workers cannot verify the voter’s signatures and the voter does not or cannot cure their ballot in time.”
But the court found no bias, evidence of partisan malfeasance, or that voters were intentionally blocked from voting. It also found counties offered opportunities to cure those ballots. The state’s auditor recommended more training for county election officials, outreach to the most affected voter groups to prevent discrepancies, and more valuable advice for any state verifying signatures. We’ll have more on that in our next report.
Find links at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.
Today’s Links
Articles & Resources:
Office of the Washington State Auditor – (2022) Evaluating Washington’s Ballot Rejection Rates
Democracy Docket – (2021) Washington Signature Matching Challenge (LULAC)
Democracy Docket – Washington Supreme Court Upholds State’s Ballot Signature Verification System
Washington Supreme Court – Opinion in Vet Voice Foundation v. Hobbs
Washington State Standard – Washington Supreme Court upholds ballot signature verification system
Washington Secretary of State – Signature Verification & Compliance Tool Training Manual
Groups Taking Action:
LULAC, Vet Voice Foundation, The Washington Bus, El Centro de la Raza
Register or Check Your Voter Registration:
U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State
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