New local efforts at voter intimidation?

Ballots have dropped for the August 2, 2022 primary. Here in Washington, we have all vote by mail elections (and have since 2011), which means we receive our ballots about two to two and a half weeks before election day and they must be postmarked or returned to a ballot drop box at one of hundreds of locations all over the state by election day. King County, where I live, has almost 1.4 million registered voters. In last year’s November general election, King County voter turnout was about 53.5% with more than 57% of ballots returned via a ballot drop box. Ballot drop boxes are convenient and popular.

So many people were alarmed by the discovery last week that Republican activists had placed signs near many ballot drop boxes throughout the county with the vaguely threatening warnings that the drop boxes were under surveillance and “accepting compensation for harvesting or depositing ballots may be a violation of Federal Law.”

Many people have suggested these signs amount to an attempt at voter intimidation, designed to discourage citizens from voting out of fear of using the drop boxes.

For the record, it’s not illegal in this state to return a ballot that isn’t yours. (Which is good news for my husband since he frequently takes my ballot to work with him because there’s a drop box right there.)

These rogue signs are being taken seriously. King County’s elections director has asked the King County sheriff to investigate the signs. The federal prosecutor for the Western District of Washington has also released a statement warning that “[v]oter intimidation is a federal crime and any attempt to harass or discourage citizens from voting at our state’s secure election drop boxes will be investigated and prosecuted in federal court.”

The proponent of these signs is a notorious Republican QAnon sympathizer who believes the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen. She now claims the signs were just part of an effort to “inform the public.” However, as the King County Prosecutor emphasized: “Washington law permits voters to drop off ballots for others. Signs intended to make voters feel like they are being watched and monitored and violating the law by depositing ballots is voter intimidation, period.”

The Republican Party has publicly disavowed these efforts and instructed her to stop using the name of the King County GOP.

Let’s hope her actions haven’t impacted anyone’s decision about whether to vote. And don’t forget to mail your ballot back with enough time to make sure it’s postmarked on or before election day or drop it off at a ballot drop box before 8 pm on election day, August 2.