Unarmed National Guard members in plain clothes will monitor ballot drop boxes across King County ahead of the Nov. 3 election, after the county accepted Gov. Bob Ferguson's offer of added security.
King County joins Pierce, Thurston, Snohomish and Clark counties in the voluntary program, which Ferguson has called an "Election Neighborhood Watch," KING 5 first reported. The governor sent a letter to all 39 county auditors offering the assistance.
King County Elections operates 100 official ballot drop boxes countywide, including locations at Bellevue College, Bellevue Library and Crossroads Shopping Center.
The county projects about 1.1 million ballots returned from its 1.45 million registered voters, according to a King County Elections news release. Seventy percent of ballots in the August primary came back through drop boxes.
Guard members will not interact with voters, handle ballots or empty drop boxes, according to multiple reports.
They will observe and coordinate with local authorities if problems arise. State officials have not disclosed how many Guard members will be deployed, Fox 13 Seattle reported.
Ferguson's letter cited two recent security concerns: a 2024 arson that destroyed ballots in a Vancouver, Washington, drop box, and packages containing white powder sent to the offices of Washington's secretary of state and several members of the state's congressional delegation. Ferguson wrote that his administration is "taking every precaution to ensure that every vote counts," according to The Spokesman-Review.
Pierce County Auditor Linda Farmer said Guard members will observe ballot-return sites and report anything they see to her office. She said the nature of election preparation has changed.
"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," Farmer told KING 5.
No King County Elections official has been quoted publicly on the county's decision to accept the Guard deployment. The Thurston County Auditor's Office said in a statement that Guard personnel will serve in a supportive role and operate under the county auditor in coordination with local law enforcement, KOMO News reported.
Not every county signed on. The Spokane County Auditor's Office declined the offer, The Spokesman-Review reported.
The Washington National Guard has provided cybersecurity support during every state election since 2016, KOMO reported. The new program expands that role to a physical presence at voting locations, but only in counties that request it.
King County's 100 drop boxes close at 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3. Voters who choose to mail ballots should send them at least one week before Election Day, according to King County Elections.
