The Washington Office of the Secretary of State has referred 142 cases of suspected improper voting in the 2018 general election to county election officials.
In a release, they say this improper voting accounts for for 0.004% of the more than 3.1 million votes cast.
Those identified as possibly voting more than once or voting on behalf of someone who is deceased.
Officials have been asked to turn these cases over to county sheriffs and prosecutors for further investigation and possible prosecution.
In an email to local elections officials, it states that two local voters were identified, with one still active in Grays Harbor and the other listed as inactive due to a returned notice as undeliverable. The names of those local voters are being held back to protect their identity.
Under state law, individuals who successfully voted, or attempted to vote, more than once in an election can be found guilty of a Class C felony, possibly resulting in up to a 5-year prison sentence and a $10,000 fine.
The effort to identify these possible improper votes are part of regular voter-roll maintenance done in partnership with the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting states with improving the accuracy of their voter lists. Washington is among ERIC’s seven founding member states.
Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman says this project and subsequent investigation is further evidence that there is no widespread voter fraud in Washington state.