By Conor Wilson, For the Valley Record

A group of current and former Snoqualmie Police Department officers have registered to vote, and possibly cast ballots, over the past four years while listing the city police department as their residential address, according to state voter registration databases analyzed by the Valley Record.

Dating back to November 2020, voter registrations for five one-time Snoqualmie officers at some point listed the city’s Snoqualmie Ridge Police Department at 34825 SE Douglas Street as their residential address. Two of those officers are still employed by the department, records show.

As of last month, registrations for one current and two former officers list the department as their home address, according to the most recent state voter database from the Washington Secretary of State’s Office.

The state’s voter databases provide monthly snapshots of the state’s active voters, including their registration address and election participation. The Valley Record reviewed databases from November 2020, 2021 and 2022 as well as February 2024.

It remains unclear why and exactly how long the group of officers have used the department address on their voter registrations. In response to messages from the Valley Record, King County and Snoqualmie officials say they are seeking clarity on the situation.

Danna McCall, a city spokesperson for Snoqualmie, said the city had initiated an investigation into the allegations. She declined to answer additional questions from the Valley Record about the officers or if the city was aware of the situation, on the grounds this was a “personnel matter.”

King County Elections spokesperson Courtney Hudak said they had “done some research,” and would “be reaching out to voters who currently have the Snoqualmie Police Department listed as their residential address.” In a follow-up message, she said letters had been sent to all three voters.

State election law generally requires voters to provide a home address when they register, ensuring they receive the correct ballot in the mail. A voter living outside Snoqualmie city limits, for example, would be unable to participate in local city council races or ballot measures.

A residence, under Washington law “for the purpose of registering and voting,” is defined as “a person’s permanent address where he or she physically resides and maintains his or her abode.”

King County Elections generally considers a residence as “wherever a person most often rests their head at night,” Hudak said. This provides exceptions for people with nontraditional addresses to register in the proper precinct, such as those who are homeless, living in temporary shelter or own multiple properties.

In limited cases, voters can list a commercial or business property as their residential address, Hudak said, if they can “attest” it serves as their residential address.

Asked if a voter could attest a police department as their residential address, Hudak said voters can attest “just about anything.” But, she noted it would only be accepted as a residential address if “in fact, the business is the voter’s residence.”

“Since most commercial/business addresses aren’t residential — that is, they’re not the places folks rest their head at night — when we’re aware that voters have registered using a commercial/ business address, we reach out to them to seek clarification,” Hudak said.

According to state databases, officers Richard Cary, Dmitriy Vladis, Kim Stonebraker-Weiss, James Kaae and Drew Ward have all listed the department as their home address on their voter registrations at some point over the past four years. Vladis and Kaae are still employed by the department.

Vladis was registered to the department in November 2020, but changed his address to a Snoqualmie home by the following year.

Cary was registered to the department in November 2020 and 2021, but changed his address to a Snoqualmie home by 2022.

Stonebraker-Weiss, Ward and Kaae were registered to the department, as of last month.

Stonebraker-Weiss, who recently retired, was registered to the department in every database viewed by the Valley Record. Property records indicate she and her husband Jason own a single-family home in unincorporated King County near Fall City. Jason, who is also a Snoqualmie Officer, lists the home on his voter registration.

Kaae is originally from Idaho and started working for the Snoqualmie Police Department in 2017. In November 2020, he had an inactive voter registration in Liberty Lake near Spokane.

Kaae’s registration was reactivated in October 2021. His address was listed as the Snoqualmie Police Department in November 2021 and 2022.

Ward was hired by the Snoqualmie Police Department last year after graduating from the academy. In November 2021 and 2022, his voter registration listed his residence as a Vancouver, Wash., apartment. A city spokesperson said he did not complete his probationary period and no longer works for the city.

Three of the five officers — Stonebraker-Weiss, Kaae and Cary — have voted in elections around the time databases show they were registered to the department.

Cary cast a ballot in the November 2021 general election, Stonebraker-Weiss cast a ballot in the 2021, 2022, and 2023 general elections, and Kaae voted in the 2021 and 2022 general elections.

All three officers notably participated in the 2021 general election, which included the election of current first-term Snoqualmie Mayor Katherine Ross.

Ross, then a Snoqualmie City Councilmember, defeated fellow councilmember Peggy Sheppard by nearly 20 points to become the city’s first new mayor in two decades. Her candidacy was endorsed by the Snoqualmie Police Association, a labor union for rank-and-file department officers.