King County Elections
919 Southwest Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057-2906

206-296-VOTE (8683)
TTY: Relay: 711
FAX: 206-296-0108

Hours:
Weekdays 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Live election cams

Live video feed from the ballot opening area

Ballots are opened and inspected once the voter’s signature on the return envelope has been verified. After opening, ballots are routed along to additional steps of processing.

Ballot opening does not happen every day, or at all hours. If there is no live stream or no activity in the Opening Area, please check back again at another time or day.

Voting by mail in King County

View the entire process in the "Behind the Scenes: Voting by Mail in King County" video or take a self-guided tour of Elections.


Live elections webcams: 1. Sorting || 2. Opening || 3. Scanning

This webcam is a service provided by King County Elections and is subject to change without notice.

Ballot opening is a three step process:

  1. The security envelopes containing the voted ballots are removed from the outer return envelopes and set aside. This separates the connection between the voter’s name and their ballot.
  2. When a stack of return envelopes have been emptied and set aside, the security envelopes are opened and the ballots are removed.
  3. Employees visually inspect each ballot, and set aside those with marks or damage that could affect tabulation. Ballots that are ready for scanning and tabulation proceed to that area. Ballots with marks or damage are sent to the duplication area, where a clean duplicate of the ballot is created.

Staff occasionally have to record information as they open batches of ballots. For ballot security, Elections limits pens in this area to colors that cannot be read by our scanning and tabulation equipment.