Members of the League of Women Voters-Jefferson County recently served as election observers and we highly commend the detailed, focused work of the Jefferson County elections staff. 

Often sitting next to observers from the Republican and Democratic parties, our members witnessed every aspect of the very regulation-driven ballot process, starting with the opening of the ballot boxes and ending with the actual counting of the ballots.

Throughout all that we witnessed, our elections staff was diligent in their procedures, consulting the appropriate handbooks, regulations, and state-level resources at their disposal. They were often quick in their shared assessments of  “that signature does not match,” tagging it, logging it, and moving it to the box for later contacting the voter. 

Their procedures for improperly marked or torn/damaged ballots were similarly diligent and systematic, and many of us who watched in person during part of the day went home to watch via their live video feed.

Transparency is at the root of our democracy, and our League observers — Angela, Toyoko, Debbi, Jackie, and Mado — walked away from the process with 100 percent faith in our local elections officials.

Angela Gyurko
PORT TOWNSEND