Statement to questions to Pierce County Auditor Linda Farmer on elections

(thanks to Pierce County Auditor Linda Farmer for her legendary support of this article)

Volunteers; do you have 100% of your need, how many different roles, how many years has the longest been there, are there incentives aside from civic duty, like pizza?!

--Fun fact, our election workers are not volunteers, they are regular County employees and as such they go through a rigorous background check and get paid. We do serve them pizza on election day as an extra incentive, though!

--We do a mass hiring every couple of years and bring on upwards of 300 people, many of them returnees. We had two such recruitments this spring and summer. We will probably switch to more frequent and smaller hiring events starting in 2027 to ease the administrative burden of the hiring process.

I'd like to learn more about 'observers'.

--Anyone can come watch ballots being processed from the observation corridor at the election center, no training required. And, I just created a self-guided tour in the corridor so you can better understand what you're seeing.

--To be an official observer with "on the floor" access, you have to take our in-person training and I'm so sorry, but it's already been held for this election, so new people will have to wait until next year.

--But our current crop of election observers works this way: They take the training, then they have to work with either the Republican Party, the Democratic Party or the League of Women Voters (representing Independents) to be scheduled for a shift at the election center. One person from each party is allowed on the floor at a time during each shift. Usually a two or four-hour shift.

--The training consists of learning the elections process from beginning to end. The goal is for observers to ensure that my staff are doing their jobs correctly, so the observers need to know what my staff do in the course of protecting and counting their votes.

--Observers have "free-range" access to walk around and watch all that's going on. They can't interfere, take pictures or ask election workers questions while they're busy. Observers can ask supervisors any questions.

--We've expanded our observer program to include monitoring of drop boxes on election night only. Again, observers have to take the training and have to be scheduled by the political parties/LWV and assigned to a box.

--Drop box observers do so from their cars at a respectful distance. They have a placard they place on their dash that identifies them as with the Auditor's Office.

--Drop boxes are protected by state law with a 25-foot no-interference zone, and we don't want voters feeling intimidated even by folks who mean well so we have our observers stay well back.

--If anything "happens" at a drop box, observers or my staff (also there on election night), will call 911, which is what anyone would do if they see something alarming no matter where they are.

Also I have a note about 'ballot mail refusal'.  What is different for this election cycle, etc.

--Due to severe budget cuts with the Postal Service and the closure of mail processing and distribution centers, the state is seeing an alarming rise in "too-late" ballots. We had about 20,000 late ballots statewide in the 2026 Primary compared with about 16,000 late ballots in the 2024 Primary.

--In Yakima, for example, they no longer have a processing facility. Mail has to go to the processing facility in Spokane--200 miles away--be processed and then sent back to Yakima. 

--Add to that the rule that the post office put in place last December which no longer guarantees that your mail will be postmarked the day it arrives at the post office. It will be postmarked when they process it, which could be days later.

--We are lucky that in Pierce County we still have a mail processing facility (behind the Pine Street Station), so we have not seen an increase in late ballots in any of the three elections we've held so far in 2026. King has also not seen an increase in late ballots. But many other counties have.

--You can see the stats (and some other cool factoids) for our 2026 Primary election in the certification report where you'll note that we only had 1,125 late ballots out of 183,000 cast. We want to get that number as close to zero as possible!

--Even though not all of us are having issues, we are united across the state in our messaging: We are telling voters in no uncertain terms not to use the mail to return their ballots. It pains us because we have excellent relationships with our local post offices, but the cuts and closures have been too severe.

--Voters should use one of the County's official 58 drop boxes. They are safe, secure, emptied frequently and guaranteed on time if you get your ballot there before 8 pm on election day. Find the closest box to you here: https://www.piercecountywa.gov/334/Ballot-Drop-Boxes

--Boxes are 1200 pounds of solid steel equipped with fire suppression systems.

AND, if you haven't watched our 7-minute video chronicling the ballot process from beginning to end, you must watch! It won a national award--one of 10 my team and I have won during my four years in office.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOHtDLYwxKE

Other items to note:

• Ballots were mailed Oct. 13

• Drop boxes are now open, people can vote as soon as they get their ballots.

• We are telling people to:

  • Vote early

  • Use a drop box

  • Track their ballots

    • Go to www.votewa.gov, log into your own account and sign up for text messages to let you know when you're ballot's been 1) mailed, 2) received, 3) accepted/rejected.
      

SEVEN SECURITY THRESHOLDS

-Ballots go only to registered voters. Each ballot is matched to a specific precinct, so you get the one that fits your address.

-Every envelope is tied to one person. The return envelope carries a unique code linked to a single voter, so no two are alike.

-Your signature gets checked. Election staff compare the signature on your ballot envelope to the one on your voter registration. They're trained in signature verification by the State Patrol.

-There's a paper trail. Voter-verifiable paper records mean results can be audited and double-checked.

-Extra ballots set off alarms. If more ballots show up in the system than there should be, an election official is alerted and the voter is contacted. At times there's been an administrative error or the voter has not updated their information. If the voter is verified, only one ballot will count. Cases of actual voter fraud, while extremely rare, are referred to the Prosecuting Attorney.

-Forging a signature is risky. A fake ID can be bought, but a forged signature can get flagged and trigger a review. Signatures are a "behavioral biometric". Signatures, along with your driver's license number and/or the last four of your social security number, are tied to your voter record. We do everything possible to ensure that only the voter is voting and signing their ballot. By signing their name, voters agree under penalty of perjury that they are a US citizen and eligible to vote. If they are found not to be eligible, they face a $10,000 fine, 5 years in jail and risk deportation.

-Tabulation machines are locked down. They're tested before use (logic & accuracy test), after use (hand count of ballots called a batch audit) and kept offline, never connected to the internet.