Seattle Times: Privacy upheld, money saved without ballot-envelope 'secrecy flap'

From our newspartner, The Seattle Times:

King County's mail-in ballot envelopes no longer have flaps that cover voters' signatures, but officials say that won't compromise voters' privacy.

By Keith Ervin

Seattle Times staff reporter

King County's mail-in ballot envelopes no longer have flaps that cover voters' signatures, but officials say that won't compromise voters' privacy.

Next Tuesday's primary is the first countywide vote-by-mail election in which voters are putting their ballots in return envelopes with their names, addresses and signatures visible on the outside.

Until this election, a paper tab — variously known as a secrecy, privacy or signature flap — covered voters' signatures. Those signatures are compared by election workers with signatures on file to verify voters' identity and eligibility to vote.

The Legislature, which in 2005 mandated use of the privacy flap, this year repealed that mandate after local election officials said the flaps added to the cost of elections while doing little to enhance voters' privacy.

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