The left's critique of mail-in voting
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Democrats are generally big advocates of Washington’s vote-by-mail system. But a coalition of left-leaning groups is now suing to get rid of one of its main features: signature checks.
Why it matters: A recent statewide audit found that the ballots of Black, Native American, Asian and Latino voters were rejected at much higher rates than those of white voters.
- Ditching the signature verification requirement could reduce the number of legitimate ballots being thrown out, decreasing the disenfranchisement of minority groups, the lawsuit says.
Yes, but: It could also leave Washington's system open to criticism that it isn't secure enough.
What's happening: A lawsuit filed by Vet Voice Foundation, the Washington Bus and El Centro de la Raza seeks to overturn Washington's requirement that election officials verify voters' signatures before counting their ballots.
- The lawsuit, whose plantiffs also include three King County voters whose ballots were rejected for a signature mismatch, argues Washington's signature-matching law "disproportionately disenfranchises voters of color," as well as voters who are young, disabled, or active-duty military.
- Because correcting a signature mismatch requires voters to go through additional steps — which may or may not prove successful — the requirement is an unconstitutional infringement on people's right to vote, the lawsuit says.
- Among the defendants named in the lawsuit are Secretary of State Steve Hobbs and King County Elections Director Julie Wise.
What they're saying: "There is no penmanship test in the Constitution and voters can and do change their signatures all the time," wrote Kevin Hamilton, a lawyer for the coalition, in an email to Axios.
The other side: Ben Gonzalez, spokesperson for the Washington State Republican Party, told Axios that signature verification is important "to ensure the voter is casting their own ballot."
By the numbers: According to a Washington Post analysis, mail-in voting fraud is rare.
- Election officials in Washington and two other vote-by-mail states identified 372 possible cases of double voting or voting on behalf of dead people in the 2016 and 2018 general elections, out of about 14.6 million votes cast, per the Post.
- That's a possible fraud rate of 0.0025%.
Meanwhile, between 2018 and 2022, Washington's signature matching system disenfranchised more than 113,000 voters — 42,000 in King County, the lawsuit says.
Plus: A recent state auditor's report found that ballots from Native American, Hispanic, Asian and Pacific Islander voters in Washington were rejected at twice the rate of ballots from white voters in the 2020 general election.
- Black voters' rejection rate was about four times higher.
Zoom out: Nine states, the Virgin Islands and Washington, D.C. don't require signature verification on mail-in ballots; they check only that the ballot envelope has been signed, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
- Those states rely on voters' declaring under oath that by signing the ballot, they are who they say they are, Hamilton said.
What we're watching: The Washington secretary of state's office said it couldn't comment on pending litigation. But spokesperson Derrick Nunnally told Axios the office has been working for decades "on making signature verification reliable and consistent," and is continuing to study disparities in ballot rejection rates.
- A tentative trial date has been set for November 2023.