The Whatcom County Auditor's Office will certify the results of the April 28, 2026 Special Election on Friday, May 8 at 11:00 a.m. The certification will take place in Suite B03 at 311 Grand Avenue in Bellingham, and members of the public are welcome to attend and observe the process in person.
Certification is the official step that closes out an election and makes the results final. After Election Night, county auditor staff continue counting ballots, including any that arrive by mail within the allowable window, resolving provisional ballots, and conducting post-election audits to verify the accuracy of the count. Certification cannot occur until all valid ballots have been tallied and reviewed.
The Whatcom County Elections Office website provides up-to-date results and official ballot count summaries. For those curious about how ballots are processed and what observers are permitted to do, the county also maintains a dedicated observer resources page with guidance on sign-up and conduct during ballot processing.
Special elections in Washington State are typically called to address specific measures, such as levies or bond measures, that don't fall on the regular primary or general election cycle in August and November. April special elections are relatively uncommon and often address time-sensitive funding needs for schools, fire districts, or other local taxing entities.
Washington State is an all-mail voting state, which means ballots are mailed directly to registered voters and must be postmarked by Election Day or dropped off at an official drop box by 8 p.m. Ballots postmarked on or before April 28 and received within a few days afterward are still counted during the canvassing period that precedes certification.
The certification event at 311 Grand Avenue is open to the public and typically lasts less than an hour. Observers are expected to follow the auditor's office guidelines for election observers, which prohibit interfering with the process or photographing ballots in ways that could compromise voter privacy.
Anyone who misses Friday's certification but wants to review the final official results can find them on the Whatcom County Elections website shortly after the event. The office can also be reached by phone at 360-778-5102 or by email at elections@co.whatcom.wa.us for questions about specific ballot status or the results.
Once certified, the results of the April 28 Special Election become the official record and are filed with the Washington Secretary of State's office, completing the post-election process for this cycle.
