WAGOP Chairman urges WA Secretary of State Steve Hobbs to take action in response to a troubling election computer swap by King County Elections
 

Bellevue—Amid growing uneasiness about actions of the King County Elections during the recent August 2023 primary election, Washington GOP Chairman Jim Walsh sent a letter to Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs urging Hobbs to take the necessary steps to reprimand King County Elections about the controversial mid-election replacement of its election-tabulation computers.

To read the Chairman’s letter in its entirety, please click here.
 

“Preserving the confidence of Washington voters in our state’s electoral processes is of utmost importance,” Chairman Walsh wrote in the letter, dated September 29, 2023.

While King County Elections staff have publicly acknowledged that they switched the County’s primary election-tabulation computer server—including hardware and software—during the 2023 primary election cycle, that admission came only after concerned citizens had made a document request under the state’s Public Records Act.

More troubling: The manner in which King County Elections replaced the election-tabulation system appears to violate state election laws, administrative codes, and best practices.

By state law, election systems and ballot tabulation computers undergo rigorous “Logic and Accuracy” Tests before each election. If computer hardware needs to be replaced during an election, the new systems also must be tested. There is no clear record that King County Elections adequately tested the computer system it swapped in during the August primary election.

“To prevent a crisis in voter confidence, I urge you to carefully review the documents and statements provided by King County Elections regarding the non-compliant server replacement during the August primary,” Chairman Walsh concluded in his letter to Secretary Hobbs.

- Team WAGOP