POMEROY, WA – A federal investigation found no wrongdoing into the hundreds of vote-by-mail ballots for Garfield that were apparently lost by the U.S. Postal Service.
Just days before the last general election, Whitman County Auditor Sandy Jamison learned that about 250 voters in Garfield never received their ballot in the mail. The auditor’s office was able to get ballots to most of those effected voters so they could take part in the November election.
Jamison says she was told by an executive at the postal service sorting facility in Spokane that they did receive the ballots that eventually disappeared.
Contradictions from the USPS began in March when Customer Relations Manager Janella Herron in Federal Way told Jamison that an extensive investigation couldn’t confirm if the post office ever received the lost ballots.
The message then changed as Jamison and Pullman Radio News were told that an investigation was continuing with USPS Office of the Inspector General. Jamison reached out to local Congressman Michael Baumgartner’s office for an update on that investigation.
Both Baumgartner’s office and Pullman Radio News have been informed by the OIG that their investigation has been completed. The agency only stated that they did not find any wrongdoing and the investigation is closed.
Jamison issued a statement on Tuesday saying she escalated the matter as far as she could and she is frustrated by the outcome. She says she will work more diligently with the USPS going forward regarding vote-by-mail elections.