Canvassing board certifies Spokane County general election results

With little fanfare and a dozen onlookers, the Spokane County Canvassing Board on Tuesday certified the results of the 2022 general election.

While Nov. 8 was the last day for voters to cast their ballots, elections don’t officially end until certification.

Certification is the responsibility of the canvassing board, a three-member group made up of designees from the Spokane County Commission, auditor’s office and prosecutor’s office.

Traditionally, canvassing board meetings are bland, quiet affairs. Tuesday’s gathering was more contentious and well attended than usual.

Multiple members of the Spokane County Republican Party attended the meeting and asked the canvassing board members not to certify the election results.

Matt Hawkins, the county Republican Party’s state committeeman, requested a re-vote or hand recount of the Spokane County auditor’s race. Incumbent Democrat Vicky Dalton won that race with 50.3% of the vote to Republican challenger Bob McCaslin’s 49.7%.

Hawkins also asked for a “comprehensive systems audit” of the county’s elections processes, a request he has made multiple times since this summer. The state committeeman has said the audit is needed to restore faith in elections. Hawkins has said he believes the county’s elections are susceptible to outside manipulation, although he acknowledges he has no evidence of fraud.

More than 220,000 people voted in this year’s general election, for a final turnout rate of 62%.

A total of 2,443 ballots were rejected, mainly because they were submitted too late, had mismatched signatures or their envelopes were unsigned.