60,000 Washington ballots not yet counted over party declarations

Envelope confusion leads to uncounted ballots

It has been six days since the Washington State presidential primaries. State officials say there are tens of thousands of ballots that were not counted because voters did not pick a political party on the envelope.

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Washington State officials say tens of thousands of ballots from the presidential primaries cannot be counted because voters did not declare a political party.

It has been almost a week since the primaries, but officials say around 60,000 people neglected to pick a political party when they signed their ballots.

Secretary of State Steve Hobbs says in Washington, we do not have caucuses nor the requirement to declare your party when you register to vote, like in other states. On primary day, the parties need to know how people voted, which is why the question still crops up on your ballot envelope.

At last check, officials say 60,000 people—roughly 5% of all ballots returned—did not have a party listed.