With the November General Election just a few days away, millions of Americans will have an opportunity to voice their opinion on the country’s political climate. In local, state, and federal races, voters will decide whom they want to be represented by for a wide variety of public offices. However, as the midterm elections draw closer by the day, so do the talking points of one hot-button issue of voting — election integrity.

Stemming primarily from the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, the topic of election integrity has risen to the forefront of political discourse throughout the country. From former President Donald Trump alleging baseless claims of voter fraud to QAnon-based conspiracies theories such as Dominion Voting Systems, a corporation that provides voting machines and tabulators to more than half of the states, was part of an international cabal to steal the election from Trump, overall public trust in the election administering process has taken a significant hit by domestic and foreign sources.

“I’ve had people come in and actually scan the computers to see if they’re admitting a cell phone signal. I’ve had people come in and look at the wiring of the computers, look at the computers themselves to see what’s done, as well as look at the facilities and how it’s maintained,” said Joe MacLean, the Grays Harbor County Auditor. “Public records requests for a while were between five to 15 a day from all over the state and the nation looking for usually the same data requests but also consistently asking for non-disclosable items such as a CVR (Cast-Vote Record) report.”

MacLean noted that CVR reports are the digital version of the ballot that a voter submits via drop box or postal service. Washington law prohibits CVR reports from being publicly released. MacLean also stated that while the auditor’s office has always provided dates and times for Democrat and Republican party observers to oversee the county’s ballot processing, there has been an uptick in visits from Republican Party observers since the 2020 election.

“Observers have to check in with their party chairperson before coming (to the Grays Harbor County Auditor’s Office), but we always allow two people from each party to observe as long as they don’t disrupt the process,” MacLean said. “We want people to be informed on what happens with their ballot, whether it’s checking the auditor’s office website or verified sources.”

One of the verified sources for Grays Harbor voters and other voters across Washington is the Office of the Secretary of State. To help people feel confident in voting, the office is promoting its “Vote with Confidence” campaign ahead of the election to provide transparency to voters who have questions or concerns. Whether you have already voted or have yet to vote in the upcoming elections, the topics below could address some concerns.

Misinformation

With misinformation becoming harder to detect and more prominent in areas such as social media, the Vote with Confidence campaign suggests that people use “The Check Method” to determine if the information being provided could be fake by checking the author, source, as well as other news providers to see if the same information is being presented.

Security

According to the campaign, multiple security measures are in place to ensure the voting process is legitimate and accurate. Each county’s voting system must be certified by the state and an independent testing authority before it is used to count or tabulate votes.

Elections staff must attend a two-day class, get 40 hours of work-related education and pass an exam. They must also work in elections for two years to become certified. To help protect against cybersecurity threats, ballot scanners are never connected to the internet. They are physically secured in locked rooms that can only be accessed by election staff in groups of two or more.

To ensure that voter fraud cannot decide an election, the signature on a return envelope will be verified against the corresponding voter registration records. Signatures that do not match are not tabulated. Random audits are also performed between election day and certification day to ensure that ballots, which are stored as durable and dependable records, were properly handled and that the total ballot count matches the number of participating voters

Eligibility

All voters must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years of age and a resident of the state to be eligible to vote in any local or state-wide election. Newly naturalized U.S. citizens, young people turning 18 before Election Day and people who have previously been incarcerated are also likely eligible to vote. While the deadline for voter registration by mail or online has already passed, people who would like to register to vote in the upcoming election can visit their local county auditor’s office to complete their registration anytime until 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Simplicity

Washington voters will receive everything they need to be informed and confident, including an informational pamphlet and ballot packet. The ballot packet will include a ballot, a privacy sleeve or envelope, and a return envelope with prepaid postage.

With Election Day slated for Tuesday, Nov. 8, voters must submit their completed ballot by mail, postmarked by Election Day, or at an official drop box, by 8 p.m. on Nov. 8 in order to have their vote counted.