Editor,

Timothy Hazelo (Nov. 30 letter) seems eager to create distrust and suspicion around our voting system here in Washington. He could easily find out the answers to the questions he is “just asking,” if he took advantage of reliable records.

Mr. Hazelo should know that our all-mail voting system was implemented statewide in 2011, and only then after all counties but one had been using it for years; during that time it had been shown to work beautifully. Between 2004 and 2010, a Heritage Foundation study found exactly 7 instances of voter fraud in Washington. Seven.

He should also know that the voter rolls are routinely matched against death rolls to make sure they’re up to date, and that the statewide database regularly tests signatures by matching them against drivers’ licenses. We must show photo ID to register to vote. We must sign the registration document. We must sign the ballot envelope. The signatures must match.

After the 2020 election, the losing presidential candidate went to court more than 60 times in an effort to have judges do what voters had chosen not to: keep him in office. He failed because there was no fraud. He was “just asking,” too.

Finally, Mr. Hazelo claims that our system is too slow. The truth is that in close elections, officials have to count more ballots before reaching certainty. Sometimes they have to count every single one. When elections are not close, we get results more quickly, as in Patty Murray’s senate race, which was called at 9:10 p.m. on election day, just 70 minutes after polls had closed.

Trust in the security of our elections is not something that ought ever to be undermined without valid, documented evidence. It’s disappointing that a candidate here on Whidbey Island would be so careless.

Kate Willette

Langley