Although the battle over the use of barcodes on San Juan County election ballots is now in its seventh year, and much has changed over that time, there is at least one thing that the parties on either side of this protracted legal debate can agree upon. And that is, that the ballot-tracking software used to monitor the flow of ballots in and out of the county Elections office, called Mail-in Ballot Tracker, has never been certified by the state agency that oversees elections in Washington, the Secretary of State. San Juan County Superior Court Judge Don Eaton notified the litigants in a March 27 “letter decision” — sort of a heads up of an official ruling to come — that MiBT should be certified because, as defined by state law, it functions as part of the “voting system” used by the county to conduct elections.
San Juan Island’s Tim White, who, along with Allan Rosato of Orcas and the local Green Party, first filed the lawsuit against the county over its use of barcodes, sees the letter decision from Eaton and the judge’s view on what constitutes a “voting system” as a victory for their side, even if there is more litigation and appeals ahead.
“We’re celebrating,” White said. “This is what we’ve been working for. What we hope is that the counties that are still using it will voluntarily quit using it until it’s certified.”
White and company claimed when the lawsuit was first filed that the county had undermined the “secrecy” of how individuals vote because the barcodes could be used to “link” voters with their ballots. He believes that “linkage” can be demonstrated if MiBT undergoes the certification process.
In the meantime, he said that the lawsuit can proceed since Eaton determine that without MiBT being certified by the state, local voters are being treated differently than other voters in the state. San Juan is one of four of the state’s 39 counties that use MiBT, others being Columbia, Douglas and Island counties.
“If, as plaintiffs argue, MiBT is part of a voting system as defined by (state law), it is clear to this court that similarly situated persons in Washington state are treated differently with respect to their fundamental right to vote because some vote by a fully certified system and some vote by a system that is only partly certified,” Eaton said in the March 27 letter ruling.
Full Article: Hurdle cleared in barcode case – Journal of the San Juan Islands.