Emergency Election Rules Issued

Secretary of State Ralph Munro issued emergency election rules to counties Tuesday in an attempt to speed up the counting of absentee ballots cast in the Nov. 5 general election.

The revised regulations, written in an attempt to prevent a repeat of the delays that plagued absentee-ballot counting in last month’s primary, will be submitted to the State Supreme Court for review.

At the request of the organization Citizens for Leaders with Ethics and Accountability Now, the Supreme Court last month ordered Pierce County Auditor Cathy Pearsall-Stipek to halt the “tabulation” of absentee ballots until after the polls closed for the Sept. 17 primary.

Confusion over the meaning of the word “tabulation” caused many counties to delay the counting of absentee ballots, a decision that delayed the outcome of three statewide primaries - for lieutenant governor, insurance commissioner and auditor - for more than a week.

Under the new regulations announced Tuesday, election workers can verify voter signatures, open envelopes, remove ballots and put them into scanner or punch-card machines before Election Day.

However, they cannot tally the votes until after the polls close at 8 p.m.

The rules take effect immediately and apply only to the Nov. 5 election, unless the Supreme Court rejects them. The court is expected to offer an opinion sometime this month. Associated Press