Here's how to track your ballot for the 2026 midterm election

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SEATTLE - Election Day, Tuesday Nov. 3, is right around the corner, when ballots must be returned in order for votes to count toward the 2026 midterm election.

Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked by Election Day or returned to a ballot box by 8:00 p.m. Tuesday.

Whether a voter's ballot has already been returned, or a voter has yet to receive it, keep reading to see how to track the status of ballots across the state of WA.

How to track your ballot status

Ballots can be tracked at VoteWA.gov, where Washingtonians can see the status of their ballots. There are four different categories of ballot status.

Timeline:

The first category and step for ballot status is "sent," which means the county has marked and sent a ballot to a voter's registered address.

Next is "received," which means county election officials got the ballot, but it has yet to be reviewed for signature accuracy.

The next status level is "accepted," meaning the signature review process was completed, and the ballot was accepted.

Alternatively, ballots can face a "rejection/challenge + challenge reason." If this shows up as the ballot status, this means either the signature on the ballot or something about the ballot itself is challenged by county elections. If this is the case, an election official will contact the voter.

To log into VoteWA.gov, voters do not need to create an account as long as they are already registered in the state. All that is required to check status is a voter's first and last name, along with their date of birth.

Why are ballots rejected?

Dig deeper:

There are a few reasons a ballot could be rejected.

Oftentimes, there is an issue with the voter's signature. Sometimes the voter forgot to sign the ballot, the signature on the envelope did not match the signature on file, or the signature appears to be a different name than the name registered.

Another reason for rejection is the voter registration failed the ID check and is required to provide ID before the ballot can be counted.

A more specific case, but still a reason for ballot rejection, is if the envelope signature was completed by another person on behalf of the voter. This person must be identified as the voter's power of attorney and must mark an "X" after additionally having two witnesses.

Regardless of the rejection reason, voters will be contacted by a county election official.

The Source: Information in this story came from the WA Secretary of State office and VoteWA.