Make sure that your vote is counted. Check your ballot’s status on VoteWA

Last updated: November 9, 2022

Once you’ve returned your ballot, there’s one more step to take: checking to see that your ballot has been received and accepted. Every year, 1–2% of ballots in Washington state have missing or mismatched signatures. The good news is that you can almost always “cure” your ballot if there’s a problem — usually just by filing a form.

You can check your ballot’s status on VoteWA.gov (the statewide voting portal) or your county’s election site. Here’s how to do it on vote.wa.gov.

Start by filling in your first name, last name, and date of birth. Then click the Submit button. You may also have to fill out a CAPTCHA — the last time I checked I had to pick all the images with chimneys.

If the system doesn’t find you, double-check your information. Your name and middle initial need to be exactly as it appears on your driver’s license, state ID card, or voter registration; and your birthdate needs to be in month/day/year format. If it still doesn’t find you, call your county election department.

Once you’re logged in, VoteWA has a handy menu that lets you do a lot of different things: find voting centers, check your ballot status and voting history, and so on. If you’re using a computer, the menu’s on the left. On the phone, click on the blue Menu button.

Next, select the Ballot Status option from the menu.

That will take you to a screen that shows the status of your ballot.

The last line is the key.

• Accepted: you’re done!
• Received: they have it, but haven’t counted it yet. Check back in a couple of days.
• Sent: they haven’t received it yet. It usually takes several days from when you leave it in a drop box until it’s officially received.
• Rejected: there’s a problem — but don’t panic, you may be able to fix it.

What to do if your ballot is rejected

Don’t panic! Washington state allows 21 days for “curing” ballots, so your vote might still count.

The best thing to do if your ballot has been rejected is to contact your county election office. Here’s the official list phone numbers for every county in the state. Your county election office will also try to contact you — by phone or email, if you put your information down on the ballot, or by postal mail — so if you get a message or letter from them, make sure to respond quickly!

In many cases, you can cure your rejected ballot by filling in a form and emailing or faxing it to the county elections department (or dropping it off in person). Here’s how it works in King County. Your county may have different procedures, so make sure to check.