--- a/testing/marionette/evaluate.js
+++ b/testing/marionette/evaluate.js
@@ -271,20 +271,24 @@ evaluate.toJSON = function(obj, seenEls)
       t == "[object Number]" ||
       t == "[object String]") {
     return obj;
 
   // Array, NodeList, HTMLCollection, et al.
   } else if (element.isCollection(obj)) {
     return [...obj].map(el => evaluate.toJSON(el, seenEls));
 
+  // WebElement
+  } else if (WebElement.isReference(obj)) {
+    return obj;
+
   // Element, SVGElement, XULElement
   } else if (element.isElement(obj)) {
-    let uuid = seenEls.add(obj);
-    return element.makeWebElement(uuid);
+    let webEl = seenEls.add(obj);
+    return webEl.toJSON();
 
   // custom JSON representation
   } else if (typeof obj.toJSON == "function") {
     let unsafeJSON = obj.toJSON();
     return evaluate.toJSON(unsafeJSON, seenEls);
   }
 
   // arbitrary objects + files