Spokane County identifies third ballot-style error before Aug. 4 primary

Spokane County has identified a third ballot-style error ahead of the Aug. 4, 2026 primary, affecting 804 voters in Precinct 6065 whose ballots omitted a proposed West Plains Aquifer Protection District measure.

County Auditor Vicky Dalton announced the issue July 22. The county said it will mail supplemental ballots to the affected voters so they can vote on the measure omitted from their original ballots.

Who is affected

The error applies to 804 voters assigned to Precinct 6065. It does not apply to every voter in Spokane County.

The missing item is a proposed measure concerning the West Plains Aquifer Protection District. The county described the problem as an error in the ballot style sent to those voters.

The county has instructed affected voters to return both their original ballot and the supplemental ballot. The original ballot remains necessary for the other contests included on it, while the supplemental ballot is intended to provide the omitted aquifer-protection measure.

County’s planned correction

Spokane County said it would mail the supplemental ballots to the 804 affected Precinct 6065 voters. The announcement establishes the county’s plan to send the additional ballot materials, but the available information does not establish whether all voters had received them by Aug. 2.

For affected voters, the next known step is to complete and return both ballot materials as instructed by the county. The relevant election date is the Aug. 4, 2026 primary.

Third error cited before primary

In its July 22 notice, the county characterized the Precinct 6065 issue as the third ballot-style error identified for the Aug. 4 primary.

The county said the two earlier errors involved Airway Heights voters and voters in Precinct 6038. Its notice did not provide voter totals for those earlier issues in the same item.

The correction concerns a proposed local measure, not a completed election result. The available county information does not establish that the ballot-style errors were intentional or that they changed any election outcome.