Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton sought to reassure voters of the integrity of local elections.

She has held the auditor’s job since 1999 and took 52% of the vote in the August primary election, compared to 48% for challenger Bob McCaslin.

Dalton, a Democrat, participated in the Thursday night’s Pints and Politics event while McCaslin declined.

Dalton said election officials do not have the ability to influence the outcome of elections because elections are built on careful systems.

Election machines are tested thoroughly and are not hacked, she said.

While some small mistakes are made in elections, fraud is a miniscule percentage. In an audit of the 2020 election, the auditor’s office identified only eight ballots by deceased voters. “When you are looking at 282,000 ballots, that is a very low percentage,” she said.

Dalton believes misinformation is being spread about the 2020 election because people didn’t like the result. “It can be tough for the losing side to accept that,” she said.