A number of questions and concerns have been raised regarding the integrity of the election process following the November 2020 election.  The following are some facts regarding concerns that have been raised. 

Video Alleging Election Fraud: 

A video captured from the live stream of the election center during the November election is being circulated alleging election fraud.  The video shows an opening board worker processing a batch of ballots.  The video alleges that the worker is changing votes for the governor’s race.  Here are the facts:

1.    The election worker was preparing ballots for the duplication process per WAC 434-261-100.  Ballots that cannot be scanned are duplicated because they can’t be tabulated as is.  

2.    The group of ballots being prepared in the video are ballots that have been downloaded and printed by voters from VoteWA.gov.  These ballots are multiple pages and cannot be tabulated in that format. The worker assigns a control number which is hand-written on the bottom of the ballot. This same number will be written on the top of the duplicated ballot. The control number allows for tracking and verification that the ballot was duplicated properly. Only green pens are allowed in the Election Center so it is easy to identify marks made on the ballots by election workers. Election workers never alter vote marks on a ballot.

3.    The control number written on the ballot being duplicated is assigned from the Duplication Log for that ballot group.  The Duplication Log contains the ballot group number, the precincts of the ballots being duplicated, and the duplication log control number.  In the video, you can see the election worker writing the precincts from the ballots on the Duplication Log, then writing the control number from the Duplication Log on the bottom of the ballots.  

4.    Following creation of the duplication groups with a completed log sheet and control numbers, the groups will be given to a duplication team of two workers who will duplicate the ballots.  The employee in the video is NOT marking the ballot with vote positions.