If you want to see how Whatcom County verifies its elections, today is your chance. The Whatcom County Auditor's Office is conducting a public hand count audit of the April 28 Special Election this morning at 10:00 a.m. in Suite B03 at 311 Grand Avenue in Bellingham. Members of the public are welcome to observe.
The April 28 Special Election was a local ballot election that included measures from 16 counties across Washington state, with roughly 406,000 eligible voters statewide. In Whatcom County, the election featured local measures that voters returned via mail ballot. Unofficial results were posted after Election Day and will remain unofficial until the Auditor's Office certifies results on May 8, 2026.
Today's hand count is a standard post-election audit process. Election workers will manually count six randomly selected batches of ballots, then compare those hand-counted totals directly against the results generated by the county's voting system. If the numbers match, it confirms the voting machines counted accurately. If they don't, the discrepancy triggers a review process.
This type of audit is a routine integrity check used by Washington counties following elections, not an indicator of any problem or irregularity. The state requires counties to conduct post-election audits to verify that tabulation equipment is functioning correctly and that ballot counts are accurate. Whatcom County uses this process to uphold public trust in election outcomes.
The public hand count is open to observers, which is by design. Washington's election laws emphasize transparency throughout the ballot processing and tabulation cycle. Registered observers, campaign representatives, and ordinary residents are all permitted to watch the process. The observer resources page on the county website has information about what observers can and cannot do during the process.
Anyone with questions about the current election or the audit process can contact the Whatcom County Auditor's Office directly at 360-778-5102 or by email at elections@co.whatcom.wa.us. Current unofficial results are viewable at whatcomcounty.us/CurrentElection.
For context on the broader election cycle, the next ballot opportunity in Whatcom County is the August 4, 2026 Primary and Special Election. The Auditor's Office is also currently seeking volunteers to write committee statements for that election's local voters' pamphlet, particularly around fire district levy measures.
