King County (WA): "4,700 Signatures Don’t Match So Far"

Erica C. Barnett (Publicola):

With 4,700 ballots rejected by King County Elections because the signatures on the ballots didn’t match the signatures on file, a challenge to those rejections by the losing candidate in the mayor’s race seems inevitable. Any such challenge would take place in King County Superior Court.

In fact, the Mallahan campaign has reportedly been calling voters whose signatures have been challenged and asking them who they voted for (and subsequently encouraging Mallahan voters to contact the county to get their votes validated). Although anecdotal evidence has suggested that more voters’ signatures have failed to match those on file this year than in previous years (because of longtime poll voters whose signatures on file at the county are years or decades out of date, and don’t match their current signatures), King County Elections spokeswoman Megan Coppersmith says the number of ballots being pulled for signature issues is “pretty typical”—around three percent.