Election drop box in Tukwila vandalized

A drive-up ballot drop box at King County Elections headquarters in Tukwila was vandalized sometime early Wednesday while ballots were still inside.

Elections officials said the metal cover plate at the top of the deposit shoot, which is sealed at the conclusion of the election, had been removed from the unit.

The drop box still contained 860 ballots. Those ballots were reviewed Thursday by the county's Canvass Board and will be kept separate for the present time, but sorted by legislative district and processed for signature verification, Elections officials said. The Canvass Board is to determine how to proceed with the ballots.

"An election is something that belongs to all of us, and it's very sad that anyone would choose to violate an official ballot receptacle, potentially disrupting a process that we all hold dear," said county Elections Director Sherril Huff.

She said it was the first incident anyone at her office could recall of a drop box being vandalized while an election was under way.