Snohomish County has accepted Gov. Bob Ferguson's offer to station unarmed National Guard members at ballot drop boxes ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
Everett-area voters using drop boxes in the coming days may see plainclothes observers nearby.
Ferguson sent a letter to county auditors across Washington offering voluntary Guard assistance, KING 5 reported. He called the program an "election neighborhood watch." Guard members in civilian clothes will monitor drop boxes and other high-traffic ballot-return locations without interacting with voters.
In Snohomish County, Guard personnel will report directly to the county auditor and monitor official drop boxes in a limited overnight capacity, according to Fox 13 Seattle. State officials have not disclosed how many Guard members will be deployed across participating counties.
The Guard members will serve strictly as observers. They will not empty drop boxes, handle ballots or interact with voters. If problems arise, they will coordinate with local authorities.
Who else signed on
Clark, King, Pierce and Thurston counties have also accepted the offer, according to Fox 13 Seattle and the University of Washington's Center for an Informed Public. Not every county opted in. Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton told The Spokesman-Review she "appreciates the offer from the governor" but would not use the resource, the center reported.
Pierce County Auditor Linda Farmer said Guard members will observe ballot-return sites and report anything they see to her.
"It used to be that we would plan for power outages and equipment failures, and now we're planning for things that are a little more serious," she told KING 5.
What prompted the offer
Ferguson said the deployment follows a 2024 arson that destroyed hundreds of ballots at a drop box in Clark County and a recent string of letters containing white powder sent to officials including Washington's secretary of state, according to Fox 13 Seattle and KOMO News.
The Washington National Guard has provided cybersecurity support during every state election since 2016, KOMO reported. The drop-box monitoring program is a new expansion of the Guard's role to include a physical presence at election locations.
The program has drawn reactions across the political spectrum. State Rep. Jim Walsh, who chairs the Washington State Republican Party, called the announcement "absurd" in a post on X, according to the Center for an Informed Public. Some on the political left also raised concerns that a Guard presence could deter voters, the center reported.
What's next
County auditors who accepted the assistance are coordinating with Guard personnel ahead of Nov. 3. Voters can track their ballot status at VoteWA.gov.
