WA Supreme Court upholds mail-in ballot procedure

Voting laws are back front and center after the Washington state Supreme Court issued a ruling on mail-in voting signature verification rules.

The court has ruled that the existing signature verification process is constitutional.

The ruling came down on Thursday in a unanimous decision.

It’s Legal

Vet Voice Foundation had sued Democrat Secretary of State Steve Hobbs over the verification process.

Vet Voice Foundation (VVF), a veteran empowerment group, claims that the rules have disenfranchised lawful voters, specifically voters of color, but the court disagreed.

Hobbs took the expected victory lap after the unanimous ruling came down.

He stated, “We are pleased with the court’s ruling, which affirms our commitment to secure, accessible, and transparent elections in Washington.

“Signature verification has been a fundamental part of our state’s vote-by-mail system for decades, helping to protect against fraud while ensuring that every eligible voter’s ballot is counted.”

As of the writing of this report, Vet Voice Foundation has not responded to requests for comment on the ruling.

The Washington Bus, El Centro de la Raza, and four individual plaintiffs joined VVF in the case.

Washington is one of eight states in the country that has “universal vote by mail,” as mail-in ballots are issued to all registered voters for all elections.

The plaintiffs argued the signature verification process is an “'unconstitutional burden' falling disproportionately on the shoulders of voters of color, non-English speakers, young voters, uniformed service members, and others.”

In the court’s ruling, Justice Steven C. González stated, “We conclude that the defendants have shown that signature verification is narrowly tailored and designed to promote the compelling purposes of election security and integrity.”

Republicans have also gone after the mail-in ballot system, hoping to change the state to same-day, in-person voting, but they have been unsuccessful to this point.

I know I am probably in the minority on the right on this issue, but I really don’t have a problem with mail-in voting as long as the controls are there. I also believe it should be limited to the elderly, those who are not in the country during the election, and those who are ill or handicapped and have a hard problem getting to the polls on election day.

I also believe that with today’s technology, we should have zero fraud in elections, and the fact we are still relying on paper ballots in some cases seems ludicrous to me. Opening my phone has more security than some state election procedures.

This really should be a bipartisan issue, but as usual, the left leans on the oppression of minorities to justify lax election laws.