5 Questions about the R-71 check: What's that you signed?

Good afternoon signature-check junkies! Our team is talking you through your R-71 check questions in our daily “5 Questions” post. You asked about dinging for dupes and signature sleuthing … and we say … Q) What's the consequence for signing a petition multiple times? A) Most people who sign a petition more than once didn’t realize they have done so! Sometimes they don’t remember they had already signed the sheet, or get confused by the many petitions circulating around their town and they lose track. If, in the checking process, our office does find the same name signed on more than one petition, we reject all but the first valid signature. (This is spelled out in RCW 29A.72.230 .) So even if a person did want to get counted more than once, they just can’t be! These types of cases are generally not referred to law enforcement, though they can be if it can be proved that the person knowingly went out and signed multiple times on a petition.

Q) Sometimes signatures are set aside because there is “no voter signature on file” – how does a name get on the voter rolls without a signature in the first place? A) The reason there is "no voter signature on file" is not because a person hasn't signed the voter registration! It generally is a result of a clerical error that happens when the county scans names in and then transfers them to the state. When we discover a signature that is not on file in our system, we make a call to the county where the registration is located and we ask them to send us a better image. Which they do. As a side note, signatures are required information when registering to vote. And it's not just for verifying that it's you who is voting by mail or signing a petition (though that's a big part) ... your signature attests to the fact that you are eligable to vote. It's your word on file, so to speak. Q) How can signature checkers tell whether a signature on a petition matches the one in the database? A) Our checkers follow our signature-matching standards spelled out in WAC 434-379-020 and are trained by managers who themselves have had extensive experience in verifying signatures. The standards spell out what our checkers look for – irregular spacing, slants of rizes, fluency and the heights and widths of letters. It’s a tough job, and we’re lucky to have such dedicated and careful workers on the case checking names! Q) I still don’t get it. Why are there additional checks on “rejected” signatures and not additional checks” for “accepted” signatures? A) Case law supports the view that once a valid registration of a signer is identified, and the signature is a match, there is no reason to go back and attempt to reject that signature. To recheck all approved signatures would nullify the vast majority of verification work already completed. These practices are longstanding practices used by the Elections Division for decades and are not designed or intended to benefit one side or the other. All signatures that are rejected by the first checker go to a senior checker who acts as a “second set of eyes” and digs deeper to find the registration on file. Signatures not found at this step go to a final step: they are run against to the most up-to-date voter information available, to make sure we have not missed any recent registrations. Q) I’ve submitted a bunch of comments about how I feel about the referendum and how it would impact Washingtonians – why aren’t you approving my comments? Isn’t this America? A) It’s not because we don’t love you, promise! (And yes, you are still in America). We respect your right to your opinion and are glad you are so passionate and engaged about this topic. However, because this is a state blog, we cannot use this public resource to house comments endorsing candidates or ballot measures. If you have questions, comments about the checking process and suggestions for us, we’re all ears – but this isn’t the venue for your political campaigning (or declarations of love for a certain department store, for that matter…). Have a question about the R-71 checks? If you can’t find it in our comprehensive R-71 FAQs, then leave us a comment and our team will do our best to answer or clarify in our daily “5 Questions” posts.