Washington Supreme Court upholds ballot signature verification system
Washington’s ballot signature verification system is constitutional, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday, despite a challenge arguing the process has disenfranchised tens of thousands of voters in the past decade.
In a unanimous ruling, the justices determined steps taken in recent years have improved the system to help voters fix, or “cure,” signature problems on their ballots. Signature verification is a central piece of Washington’s vote-by-mail elections.
“All too many ballots are not counted because election workers cannot verify the voter’s signatures and the voter does not or cannot cure their ballot in time,” Justice Steven Gonzalez acknowledged in the opinion.
“But signature verification is only a part of the election system established by our legislature,” Gonzalez continued.
https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2025/03/06/washington-supreme-court-upholds-ballot-signature-verification-system/