Whitman County asks for help with forthcoming election

COLFAX - To abide by state law, the Whitman County Elections Office is seeking assistance from other counties for February's special election.

According to Washington state law, every county is required to have at least two state-certified elections administrators on staff during an election. The looming departure of Elections Supervisor Karen Bafus will leave the county with just one employee who is certified by the state.

Whitman County Auditor Eunice Coker said Bafus' last day with the county is Feb. 9.

The move leaves just Coker and one other elections official, Cindy Pitts, to tabulate this month's election.

"It leaves Cindy and I very nervous," Coker said. "To make a long story short, Cindy is a certified elections administrator, but when it comes down to individual operating systems, like tabulators and voter registration, she has not been trained in those areas."

Coker said she is not trained in those areas, either.

She said she has reached out to county auditors throughout the state for assistance.

"We have a commitment from Spokane County to do what they can," she said. "They have the same tabulator we do."

Coker said that help could be training, or the county may send someone to do tabulation on election night. She is expected to visit with Spokane County officials this week to review the county's equipment. Coker said officials from Adams County are also coming to Colfax to see what they can offer.

Coker has also reached out to the tabulator's vendor and the vendor of the county's elections processing system, which tracks voter registration. She said assistance for both vendors is expected to be on standby in case any troubleshooting is needed during the night of the election, which is not expected to cost the county.

If Pitts and Coker are left to tabulate the election, Coker said she has made the Secretary of State's Office aware of the situation, and that they may only have one state-certified official for the election.

"They know the circumstances," she said. "I don't know what they would do anyway, besides give us a bad report in a review."

Coker has contacted the Secretary of State's Office for assistance, but that office is not allowed to be directly involved with the county election.

"They'd be able to take care of observers and media," she said.

The state also has pledged to fast-track the state certification for the county's next elections administrator so the problem is avoided in the future.

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Babcock may be contacted at jbabcock@lmtribune.com or at (509) 339-3423.