King County elections office says vote by mail or drop box is safe

SEATTLE - A record number of voters in King County are voting in this year's presidential election.

"I think this is a really important election. I think everyone who can vote has to vote," said Ballard resident Pat Clayton.

More than ever, voters are ditching the lines at the polls and voting by mail or drop box.

"I just wanted to do it this way to save some time and in case my vote doesn't get counted, they'll let me know and I can vote again," said U-District resident Drew Griffin.

Vote by mail has been controversial with some concerns about voter fraud.

"This is the first time I dropped it in a dropbox. I usually feel comfortable putting it in the mail but this year, I feel less comfortable doing that," said Clayton.

The King County elections office says voters should feel confident in the system as the data speaks for itself.

"When we look at data from 2018, the last midterm election, King County identified 17 voters out of 1.2 million that we believe might have voted twice. 17 out of 1.2 million registered voters is 100 thousand of a percent of voter error or voter fraud," said Julie Wise, King County director of elections.

Wise adds that only 1-2% of ballots get flagged because they're missing a signature or signatures don't match. So far, 750,000 ballots have been turned in in King County which is a 50% turnout rate. Wise says the huge turnout shows voters do feel safe voting by mail or drop box.

Once you drop off your ballot, trained election employees pick them up daily in sealed containers and bring them directly to the election headquarters, all while following security protocol. Cybersecurity measures are also in place.

You can track your ballot online at kingcounty.gov.