The U.S. Postal Service released its report on hundreds of missing ballots in Whitman County, but an “extensive investigation” didn’t yield any answers.
On Tuesday, Whitman County Auditor Sandra Jamison said the final conclusion from USPS is that “we are unable to determine if or when the mail pieces were in possession of the Postal Service.”
“I wish I had a definitive answer as to the whereabouts of these missing ballots, but unfortunately, I do not,” Jamison said in a news release.
Prior to the Nov. 5 election, the auditor estimated 250 ballots, primarily to voters with P.O. boxes in the town of Garfield, went missing after being processed by the postal service in mid-October.
Jamison said she confirmed from her third-party vendor that all of the Whitman County ballots were delivered to the Spokane plant.
“I worked diligently with Washington state’s USPS and had direct conversations with the executive plant manager in Spokane,” the auditor said. “He assured me that there were no missing ballots at his plant, and that none of the surrounding USPS facilities reported any wayward Whitman County ballots.”
Jamison said the missing ballots were an unfortunate event, but she believes it was isolated. Prior to the Nov. 5 election, she hasn’t had any major issues with the vote-by-mail system.
“My staff and I were able to provide replacement ballots for the majority of those voters who did not initially receive their ballot,” Jamison said. “We did so quickly and efficiently and were appreciative of those who reached out to us.”
