Auditor says ballot boxes safe

Mason County Auditor Steve Duenkel wants the community to know its election ballots are safe.

Fires set in ballot drop boxes in Vancouver, Washington, and nearby Portland early Monday morning prompted Gov. Jay Inslee to issue a statement later in the day saying there will be 24-hour enhanced security around ballot drop-off locations in Washington.

“Mason County Ballot Drop Boxes have multiple layers of security,” Duenkel told the Journal in an email Tuesday.

“All drop boxes have internal fire suppression devices. All have internal GPS monitoring. All are under 24/7 security video surveillance that is monitored by engaged citizen observers and our Department of Emergency Management,” Duenkel wrote.

Ballots are also being collected twice a day now, he said.

In February, a Mason County ballot box at the Belfair Library was pulled out of the ground and damaged, prompting county elections officials to move the box to a new location near North Mason Regional Fire Authority’s headquarters.

Voters who don’t mail their ballot can drop it off at the Vote Center in Shelton at 411 N. 5th Street, or the Temporary Vote Center in Belfair at 460 NE Old Belfair Highway before 8 p.m. on Election Day. Mail-in ballots need to be postmarked on or before election day.

Both the drop boxes have livestream video surveillance that can be watched at http://www.masoncountywa.gov/auditor/elections/observers.php.

“We take the safety of our election workers seriously and will not tolerate threats or acts of violence that seek to undermine the democratic process. I strongly denounce any acts of terror that aim to disrupt lawful and fair elections in Washington state. Despite this incident, I have complete confidence in our county elections official’s ability to keep Washington’s elections safe and secure for all voters,” Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said in a statement.