September 26, 2024
Skagit County Unveils New Elections Office; Announces Spanish Election Materials for November 2024 Election
This past month, the Skagit County Auditor’s Office has officially moved the elections space from the second floor of the County’s Administration Building down to the first-floor hearing rooms that were generally underutilized until a large courtroom was established during the pandemic. The County has repurposed two of the three hearing rooms for Elections, which will include the third hearing room for Elections use in early 2026 after Superior Court has been consolidated in the Courthouse. The new space will be fully operational to process ballots for the November 5th presidential election.
“Voting is a sacred right, and we are proud to have the duty of administering elections,” said Commissioner Browning, Chair of the Board of County Commissioners. “The new elections office provides a more inclusive and transparent space for election workers and observers to participate in the elections process.”
The previous Elections space had a service counter with limited views of the area that extended behind the Auditor’s staff. The new elections space now has an exterior door and row of windows that will significantly improve public visibility of the ballot counting process. The volunteer observers will also have more room to circulate and monitor operations. The new secure tabulation area is approximately twice the size of the previous space to accommodate additional workstations as the county population grows.
The most significant modification was the addition of a room with a glass wall to house the noisy ballot sorting machine that opens envelopes and prepares ballots for counting in the tabulation area. The tabulation computers are stand-alone units that cannot be interrupted by outside interference. When the third hearing room is repurposed for Elections in 2025, it will include a large chain link room to keep secure storage of all ballot materials in public view. Staff workstations will also move into the third hearing room, creating more open space in the ballot counting areas.
Similar to the second-floor security measures, access controls were added to all doors for an ability to maintain entry logs, and the ballot counting area still requires badges from two authorized staff members to access. The new space will improve transparency for the public and provide a better understanding of how ballots are handled, counted, and validated.
Skagit County has additionally partnered with North Sound ACH to provide funding for election material translation through 2025. North Sound ACH will assist in distribution and outreach of these election materials to our Spanish speaking community. The Auditor's Office will now offer bilingual voter registration forms, local voters’ pamphlets with candidate information, and ballot instructions. The materials will also be available on our website in English and Spanish.
“We have worked for a long time now to have election materials available for our Spanish-speaking community,” said Sandy Perkins, Skagit County Auditor. “Everyone should have the opportunity to participate in our elections and having these new materials available will help increase voter turnout in Skagit County.”
For more information on elections, please visit our website. To check your voter registration, please visit votewa.gov.
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