Thurston County says it updated over 30,000 voter records this year. Here’s how
Thurston County says it updated over 30,000 voter registration records out of the more than 200,000 registered voters ahead of the November election.
The county Auditor’s Election Division completed the updates in the first nine months of 2024 to ensure accurate voter rolls, according to a county news release.
“Ensuring up-to-date voter rolls is a year-long focus for our voter registration team,” Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall said in the news release.
The Auditor’s Office shared details about the updates two weeks before the Nov. 5 election when voters will make consequential decisions in federal, state and local races. Voting is already underway, since the county mailed ballots on Oct. 10.
The updates they made to voting records included 794 voter registrations that were canceled at a voter’s request, 1,985 voter registrations that were canceled due to the death of a voter, and 5,266 voter registrations that were marked inactive because of undeliverable mail.
Inactive voters must contact the Auditor’s Office to update their addresses to receive a ballot, the news release says.
The Auditor’s Office says it updated the voter rolls by cross referencing information from “trusted sources,” including the Office of the Secretary of State, Social Security Administration and U.S. Postal Service National Change of Address Program.
Additionally, the Auditor’s Office says they collaborate with state agencies such as Licensing, Health, Corrections, and the Office of the Administrator of the Courts.
Voter registration records for people who have died are eliminated by referencing health department data, published obituaries and written notices from relatives, according to the release.
The Auditor’s Office also updated 1,325 voter records using data from the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a nonprofit made up of state election officials from across the country. The ERIC uses data matching software to compare voter registration and vehicle licensing data in over two dozen states, including Washington, according to the organization’s website.
This is done to ensure voters are not registered in multiple states, the county news release says.
But Hall said the voters play the largest role in making sure voter rolls are accurate.
Anyone who receives a ballot for a deceased voter, a voter who has moved or anyone who is not residing at their address should contact the Auditor’s Office, the news release says.
Voters also may return a ballot through the Postal Service by writing “deceased” or “not at this address” on the ballot and depositing it in the mail. Those ballots will be returned to the Auditor’s Office, which will cancel or inactivate the voter in accordance with state and federal law.
