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Washington state Republican Chair Jim Walsh has referred to as having voters write their party affiliation on the outside of their mail-in ballot a “questionable design decision” as some Washingtonians have raised considerations.
Walsh informed Fox News Digital on Friday the requirement to declare one’s party is “codified in law” and is just for the first, not the overall election.
“The design where the attestation, the declaration is on the outer part of the envelope, that is not state law, that is a guideline, an administrative decision made by the Washington Secretary of State in conjunction with local county level election officials,” he mentioned.
Walsh added, “That is not statutory, that’s just a questionable design decision by the Secretary of State working in conjunction with the local county elections people.”
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Empty envelopes of opened 2020 vote-by-mail ballots for the presidential main are stacked on a desk at King County Elections in Renton, Wash. (Jason Redmond / AFP by way of Getty Images / File)
Walsh mentioned state Republicans have been attempting since 2016 to alter the regulation requiring voters to declare their party “so that people can choose to be unaffiliated,” however have been blocked by the Democrat-led legislature.
One X person snapped a photograph of their ballot envelope, exhibiting the place voters should declare themselves as Democrats or Republicans, writing on Thursday, “New Washington State envelopes for mail-in ballots. NEVER had to disclose my party declaration on the OUTSIDE of my ballot before. Don’t feel really good about this.”
Cartoonist Scott Adams reposted it, writing, “How can this be real?” and X proprietor Elon Musk responded, “What!?”
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Another voter wrote, “QUESTION- Why am I REQUIRED to list party affiliation on the outside of the envelope to VOTE?”
A 3rd X person posted an image of their envelope, writing, “Washington State Presidential Primary Ballot … you have to declare on the outside of the envelope?!? Also no option for independents! This is how ballots get tossed before they can even be counted!”
“We’re not keen on the law, but we understand it is the law and that we do need to comply both with state law and with some national and with some national party rules,” Walsh informed Fox News Digital of the requirement to declare a party.
He mentioned the “spirit of the law” is to maintain voters from individuals from “gaming the system, being part of one party and trying to vote in the other party’s primary” however he felt there could possibly be real safety considerations with the declaration being on the outside of the ballot.
A voter drops a mail-in ballot right into a mailbox in Everett, Wash. (iStock)
The Washington Secretary of State’s Office has included examples of protests voters wrote on their ballots in 2016 — in exhibiting voters the proper strategy to mark their ballot — that included statements comparable to, “Actually I’m an Independent but if it makes you happy,” “Don’t tell me what I need to be … the voters are furious” and “I feel like I am being forced to choose a party and that’s not fair.”
The voter’s party declaration selection is eliminated after 60 days, in keeping with the secretary of state’s workplace, noting on its web site, for the “Presidential Primary only, the major political parties require voters to mark and sign the party declaration. If you choose to participate, your choice of party will not affect how you may vote in future elections. You must mark and sign the political party declaration (box) on your envelope for your vote to count.”
The workplace has not clarified why the declaration is on the outside of the ballot. Fox News Digital has reached out to the secretary of state’s workplace.
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Fox News Digital has additionally reached out to the Washington Democratic Party for remark.
Washington’s presidential main is on March 12.
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