Ballots found dumped at Golden Gardens: what Seattle voters should do, and what's on their ballot

Two U.S. Postal Service bins holding election ballots were found dumped at Golden Gardens Park in northwest Seattle this week, KIRO 7 reported on Oct. 22. King County Elections recovered 92 ballots and has reissued ballots to all of the affected voters, according to KIRO 7. Seattle police checked 26 trash bins in two parking lots and found no more ballots, the station reported. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is investigating.

The Stranger also noted King County Elections' confirmation that the bins were tossed in a dumpster.

If you mailed a ballot or are waiting for one, this matters because the Nov. 3 general election is 10 days away and Seattle voters are deciding a City Council seat and a citywide tax measure.

What voters can do

Investigators have not said how the bins got there or whose mail they held. What voters can do now:

• Check your ballot status. Washington voters can see whether their ballot was mailed to them, received and accepted through the state's VoteWA portal.
• Watch for a replacement. King County Elections said it reissued ballots to the affected voters, KIRO 7 reported. If you are one of them, return the new ballot.
• Consider a drop box. Ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 3 or placed in an official drop box by 8 p.m. that day. Drop box locations are listed by King County Elections.

Elections are run by King County, not the City of Seattle, and mail is handled by the Postal Service. The City Council has no formal role in the investigation.

What our records add: what's on Seattle's part of the ballot

Two city items are on this ballot, and the Council's records show how each got there.

Seattle Proposition 1, the transit measure. The Council voted 9-0 on July 21 to send the renewal of the Seattle Transit Measure to voters (CB 121226). Mayor Katie Wilson signed it July 30, according to the City Clerk's legislative history. The stakes for the budget are large. The city's October revenue forecast says the current transportation benefit district sales tax ends April 1, 2027, and that renewing it at 0.3 percent would bring in about $94 million in 2027 and $125.4 million in 2028. We explained the measure in Prop. 1 on your ballot.

The District 5 Council seat. North Seattle voters are choosing between Nilu Jenks and Julie Kang to finish the term in the seat now held by appointee Debora Juarez. It is the only Council seat on this year's ballot. Our earlier stories cover the candidates and the seat's voting record and complaints about outside spending in the race.

Golden Gardens is in District 6, represented by Dan Strauss, who also chairs the Council's budget committee. His District 6 page lists his sponsored legislation and votes.

Background

This is not the first time Seattle-area ballots have turned up outside the normal mail stream. In 2023, about 85 ballots sat in a Capitol Hill mailbox that had not been emptied before they reached King County Elections, MyNorthwest reported at the time.

What's next

• Nov. 3: Election Day. Drop boxes close at 8 p.m.
• The Postal Inspection Service investigation is ongoing, KIRO 7 reported. We will update this story if investigators or King County Elections release more information, including how many voters were affected.