ERIC Reduces Undeliverable Ballots in King County, Washington

Article Read time:
Projects: Election Initiatives
ERIC Reduces Undeliverable Ballots in King County, Washington

Data released by King County, Washington, reported that only 11,174 ballots sent to county voters for the 2014 primary were returned as undeliverable, down from 17,911 in the 2013 primary, a drop of over one-third. Washington state sends ballots to all registered voters and expects that during each election a small number of them will be returned by the Postal Service as undeliverable due to incorrect addresses.

County election officials attribute this decrease in part to Washington’s participation in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), which matches and analyzes intrastate and cross-state data to identify voters who have moved or died or hold duplicate records. This process helps ensure that election authorities have the most current address information for voters and therefore more complete and accurate voter lists. 

Julie Wise, deputy director of King County elections, stated, “ERIC is to thank for this decrease in undeliverable ballots. I strongly feel ERIC allows election administrators to get in front of having and maintaining clean rolls rather than being reactionary—after ballots are mailed to update addresses for future elections.  This is incredibly important in a vote-by-mail environment.”

Since joining ERIC in 2012, Washington state has identified 168,106 residents who have moved within the state, and 31,855 who have relocated out of the state. County election officials began reaching out to these voters in early 2014 to confirm their address information and to rectify inaccuracies on the voter list. 

This type of routine list maintenance is critical to keeping pace with a mobile electorate, which is particularly common in urban areas such as King County, home of Seattle, Washington. 

Election Day is almost here. Learn more about our new and free tools that make voting information more accessible. 

And follow us on Twitter using #electiondata and get the latest data dispatches, research, and news by subscribing today.

America’s Overdose Crisis
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Quick View
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
RELATED
Tags
Election administration
Projects
Election Initiatives
Places
Washington

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

An adult and a child huddle in front of a laptop computer, their faces lit by the screen, with a room and bright windows behind them.

Article

November 27, 2023 Researchers Share How State Grants Boost Broadband Access
A group of teenagers gather in a park with bikes, their silhouettes in high contrast to the cloudy sky behind them.

Article

November 2, 2023 Insights on Brain Development Can Improve Youth Justice
Five video cameras on tripods stand in a line, with one reporter holding a camera slightly out of focus, all aimed at the same subject.

Article

October 6, 2023 Data-Based Journalism Needed to Advance Youth Justice

MORE FROM PEW

A presentation being given by a businesswoman to a group of participants at a business conference. Four Plan Features Can Boost 'Retirement Readiness'
A large group of people in formal or traditional attire stands together on a stage, with a digital background depicting marine life and the large text “WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.” WTO Needs to Redouble Its Effort on Fishing Subsidies
A man in a winter hat and sunglasses kneels on a rocky shoreline in front of a campfire, holding a metal mug with gloved hands. Behind him, in the water, a motorboat is moored to the shore. Cliffs rise on both sides of the water. Why Newfoundland’s South Coast Fjords Are Sacred
An illustration of a couple holding hands walking away from an outline of houses behind them Pathways to Homeownership: Housing in America
Composite image of modern city network communication concept

Learn the Basics of Broadband from Our Limited Series

Sign up for our four-week email course on Broadband Basics
Quick View

How does broadband internet reach our homes, phones, and tablets? What kind of infrastructure connects us all together? What are the major barriers to broadband access for American communities?

Pills illustration
Pills illustration

What Is Antibiotic Resistance—and How Can We Fight It?

Sign up for our four-week email series The Race Against Resistance.
Quick View
Pills illustration

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also known as “superbugs,” are a major threat to modern medicine. But how does resistance work, and what can we do to slow the spread? Read personal stories, expert accounts, and more for the answers to those questions in our four-week email series: Slowing Superbugs.