The state Republican Party says it has filed a lawsuit challenging King County’s use of an online tool to allow voters to fix their challenged ballots, mostly with signature issues.
The complaint is the latest development in a monthlong saga to determine who will compete with former Republican U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler to become the next state commissioner of public lands. The lawsuit was first reported by KUOW.
The primary election for lands commissioner came down to a hand recount after only 51 votes (of 1.9 million) separated King County Councilmember Dave Upthegrove, a Democrat, and GOP-endorsed Sue Kuehl Pederson. The recount found Kuehl Pederson losing to Upthegrove by 49 votes.
In 2022, Herrera Beutler lost her seat as a representative in Southwest Washington’s 3rd Congressional District after she voted the year prior to impeach former President Donald Trump over his role in inciting the mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
At the state Republican Party’s 2024 convention, Herrera Beutler was greeted with boos and dozens of delegates who stood and turned their backs to her as she spoke.
The GOP alleges that “there is less than a one in a billion chance that Dave Upthegrove would be in the top two candidates moving onto the general election” if ballots cured using an online tool had not been included in the county’s tally, according to the complaint shared with The Seattle Times by GOP Chairman and state Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen.
King County Elections uses a service called OmniBallot to let voters electronically fix their challenged ballots.
The GOP wants the court to rule that the around 2,000 ballots cured using the online system are invalid.
A spokesperson for King County said the office had not received notice of service of the complaint.
Stuart Holmes, director of elections for the Office of the Secretary of State, said state law allows for electronic ballot curing. He said it is unclear what relief King County could offer, even if a judge ruled that the lawsuit is valid.
Once a challenged ballot has its signature verified and has been counted, “there is no way to go back and say how that voter voted,” he said.
“I’m very confident in the privacy and security protocols that Democracy Live uses in the products that we offer to our voters,” Holmes said of the company that manages OmniBallot.
Shasti Conrad, chair of the state Democratic Party, said in a statement, “The WAGOP’s last ditch embrace of election denialism and dog whistles to Q Anon conspiracy theorists is as sad as it is predictable.”
Herrera Beutler said in a statement: “I’m going to keep talking about how I’ll better manage lands for biodiversity and fire resilience, and let the courts decide who my opponent will be.”
It is unclear where Kuehl Pederson stands on the results. In a statement shared Wednesday morning by her campaign manager Sam Cardwell, Kuehl Pederson conceded the race. However, the campaign said through email around two hours later: “this statement has been rescinded.”
The original statement said “although the results were not as hoped, she is thankful to God for the experience and for the opportunity to bring attention to vital issues facing Washington. … While the campaign has concluded, Sue believes it laid a strong foundation for future progress.”
The statement did not endorse another candidate but instead urged her supporters to “remain engaged in these important efforts.”
