Letter to the editor: All required chain of custody procedures were followed

Posted

There were several false statements in the letter “Election observer fights back after getting canceled” in The Reflector’s May 11 edition.

Mr. O’Meara’s certification as an election observer was revoked because, after repeated warnings, he continued to disrupt ballot processing by giving verbal directions to members of the counting board and physically touching their paperwork. In addition, he interacted with an elections office supervisor in an aggressive, inappropriate manner.

State law says election observers may not disrupt ballot processing or record images of voted ballots. All observers sign an agreement that they will not speak to ballot counting board members. Observers are always welcome to ask questions of, or request information from, elections office supervisors.

Mr. O’Meara did not deny that he disrupted ballot processing. Instead, he complained that he was not given advance notice that elections office staff members intended to enter a sealed room where voted ballots were stored. There is no requirement to inform observers in advance of this. All required chain of custody procedures were followed.

Information provided by the Washington Voter Research Project to the elections office has been carefully reviewed to ensure the accuracy of our voter registration database. 

The documents the canvassing board were provided as part of Mr. O’Meara’s appeal and the news release regarding the Washington Voter Research Project are available online at ClarkVotes.org in the “Recent Notifications” section.

Election observers are a very important part of elections. We are very grateful for the service these volunteers provide. Observer training is available online beginning June 1.



Anyone with questions or concerns regarding elections in Clark County is encouraged to contact me.

Greg Kimsey, 

Clark County auditor