Benton County Elections – Canvassing Board Training

Greetings,

The Benton County Canvassing Board will be meeting at various times during the February 10, Special Election cycle.  This is to advise you of the current ballot processing schedule and canvassing board meetings for this election. 

Commencing Monday, January 26, 2026 the following processes may occur daily, depending on the level of ballots returned on a day-to-day basis. 

Official L&A test – Tuesday, January 20 – 10:00 am

• Ballot Drop Boxes will be opened – January 16
• Ballots Mailed – January 21
• Ballot Runs will be done 3 times a week.  As of now we are looking at January 26, 28, 30. February 2, 4, 6, 9, 10, 11 for ballot runs and signature verification.
• Ballot scanning and opening will begin February 2

• February 19– Pre-Certification processes begin for the February Special Election @ 9 am
• February 20 – Certification of the February Special Election @ 9am

The processing schedule may be modified from time to time depending on the number of ballots received daily.

All election processes will take place at the Benton County Election Center, located at 7122 W. Okanogan Pl., Bldg. F, Kennewick. 

During processing, no persons except those employed and authorized by the county auditor may touch any ballot, ballot container, or vote tallying system.  We also ask that no photos be taken without the approval of the Election Manager.

To determine which processes are being conducted on a given day, we advise that observers contact our office directly.

Please let me know if you should have any questions.