Thurston County auditor's office wins national election outreach award

The Thurston County Auditor's Office received the Election Assistance Commission's Clery Award in the large-county category, Auditor Hall and staff told the Board of County Commissioners on May 6.

Auditor Hall described the award as a national recognition of the office’s outreach and accessibility work. “The Clery Award really is like the Academy Award of Election Awards,” Auditor Hall said, noting the program used short, face-to-camera videos featuring local election workers to explain how ballots are counted and to show the people who process elections.

Emmett O’Connell, communications manager in the auditor’s office, said the office organized outreach into three columns — dates and voting information, how ballots are counted, and personal stories from people who work in elections — and that the neighbor-focused videos were unscripted and largely shot on a smartphone. He said the digital ad campaign that amplified the videos changed the tenor of online comments and led to more positive engagement.

Auditor Hall also noted an honorable mention for accessibility after work with Intercity Transit and said the videos were created in-house at minimal cost. She thanked the election workers who volunteered for the campaign and acknowledged the safety risks election staff face, saying the effort followed a year in which the office received a fentanyl-laced envelope.

Randy Gagnon, an election worker who spoke during a demonstration segment, described day-to-day tasks in ballot processing and emphasized the two-person process used in handling ballots. “The process that they do is very impressive,” Gagnon said.

Commissioners congratulated the auditor’s office and staff on the national recognition and on the perceived community benefit of showing the people who administer elections. The office will represent the county at national conferences where the award is highlighted.