It was intended to be a discussion about the timing and the cost of the SAVE Act, with the Clark County Council deliberating whether to send a letter to congressional leaders asking them to realize what could happen during this year’s election if the act were passed in the coming weeks.
A boilerplate letter was written for counties all over the country to consider sending to their leaders. Clark County Chair Sue Marshall asked that this discussion be added to the agenda to get the thoughts of the rest of the council.
It was not necessarily a debate on the pros and cons of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act.
Councilor Wil Fuentes, however, could not resist taking a moment to rip on the act and the Trump administration.
“What I see here is just another attempt by the current administration at voter suppression. It’s just an attempt for them to create chaos, to create confusion, so that voters don’t vote in this midterm election. This is why I would support sending this letter,” Fuentes said during Council Time on Wednesday.
Fuentes noted that he believes that Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, along with Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, will vote against the act. Still, he wants to send a message.
“We care about voter integrity. There is no evidence of widespread election fraud at the local level, at the national level, at the state level by non-U.S. citizens,” Fuentes said, adding that it is “another attempt at voter suppression by the current administration because they are incompetent and continue to fail to serve the American people.”
Marshall seemed surprised by Fuentes’ response.
“OK,” Marshall said, stretching out the word. “I think I would like us just to focus on whether or not we want to send a letter.”
Jordan Boege, senior policy analyst for the county, presented the council with an overview of the letter. He noted that the Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC) and National Association of Counties (NACo) believes the SAVE Act will cost counties millions of dollars to make the required changes. The letter asks that if the SAVE Act is enacted, congress should provide funding for counties to run the elections.
Plus, there is the timing issue. Ballots for military personnel, Boege said, have already been mailed for the November election. Ballots for residents of Clark County are required to be sent by mid-October.
Should congress move forward with new federal election requirements, the letter asks to allow 18 to 24 months before requirements take effect.
“If things were to get passed at this late date, it would introduce a lot of chaos into the election process,” Boege told the council.
“We write today on behalf of Clark County,” the letter, after it was edited by Boege, begins, “where we administer federal elections for nearly 360,000 registered voters across 372 precincts.”
The letter asks that leaders oppose the SAVE America Act provisions in Fiscal Year 2027 (which begins Oct. 1, 2026) because it would require new registration requirements weeks before Election Day.
“Counties are the level of government that actually run elections,” the letter continued, noting the elections office is responsible for voter records, preparing and testing voting equipment, the printing and mailing of ballots, and more. “That work is sequenced months in advance, and it is well underway for November 3.”
Councilor Michelle Belkot wondered how this letter even made it to the agenda. She said she cannot recall the council ever taking a position on a national bill.
Boege said the original boilerplate letter came from WSAC and NACo, and that Marshall asked for staff to look into the letter.
“I won’t be participating in this letter,” Belkot said. “It’s a national bill. It’s a national issue. I don’t see the necessity. I don’t see how it’s suppressing voter participation if you are a legal voter.”
Councilor Matt Little came up with a compromise. As a former staffer to a U.S. senator, Little said he has plenty of experience in reading boilerplate letters.
“I hate these,” he said. “They have almost no effect whatsoever.”
Instead, he proposed that the Clark County Auditor’s office come up with information that pertains only to Clark County, not some form letter.
“Ask the auditor to write a letter about what the SAVE Act would actually mean for Clark County, for voting, and for costs,” Little suggested. “And not add anything about I’m for or against. Just give some facts.
“That would be something I would support. I would not support this letter.”
In the end, the council approved that request to get more information from the auditor.
The boilerplate letter, before the edits from Clark County, is shown here on the county’s website.
