Election security — and protection for ballot drop boxes — should be a priority for lawmakers in Olympia. But even the best-laid plans could be inadequate against the type of attack that hit Clark County in October.
Last year, weeks before the general election, an arsonist damaged at least 494 ballots in a Vancouver drop box. The incident was troubling — an act designed to undermine election results and faith in elections. No arrests have been made, and the FBI continues to investigate.
Equally troubling was the reaction from some political leaders. Rather than focusing on the heinous act, Rep. Jim Walsh, Washington GOP chairman, wrote in a statement: “WA needs to get back to in-person voting. Our experiment with ‘100 percent mail-in-voting’ is not secure.”
Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey, the county’s top elections official, told news outlet InvestigateWest: “This is someone who doesn’t like vote by mail. This is someone who wants to go back to polling places. Damaging ballot drop boxes is one of the best ways to undermine people’s confidence in the vote-by-mail system.”
Kimsey has diligently led efforts to bolster that confidence, and those efforts should draw rapt attention from the Legislature. According to reports, Kimsey offered some suggestions in a December presentation to lawmakers:
- Reduce the number of required ballot drop boxes.
- Close most boxes early and collect ballots early.
- Upgrade boxes with technology such as state-of-the-art fire suppression, surveillance cameras or alarm systems.
- Post observers to guard the boxes overnight.
“I certainly didn’t think all those ideas would be adopted into the law this session,” Kimsey told InvestigateWest. Still, they should be considered; instead, only minor attention has been paid to election security.
Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview, has introduced a bill that would require drop boxes to be labeled with warnings that tampering could violate election laws. But, as Kimsey said, “Will it deter bad behavior? I think it’s pretty obvious that those people who did damage the drop box were quite aware it was illegal.”
Another bill would establish a grant program through the secretary of state’s office, but it does not have any funding attached. Kimsey said: “If the only proposal is to create a grant program that doesn’t have any funding, that doesn’t do much.”
A current grant program is expiring this year. Clark County has used that funding to install drop-box cameras and improve fire suppression systems inside the boxes. While lawmakers should renew that funding, they also should intensify efforts to reinforce Washington’s popular vote-by-mail system.
Misinformation about election integrity is undermining our democracy. The Clark County Elections office has an online video detailing the ballot-counting process and inviting the public to become informed about it.
Furthermore, common sense reveals that vote-by-mail is more secure than in-person voting because it requires fewer people to handle ballots. States Newsroom reported in October 2023 that “When every registered voter gets sent a ballot in the mail — a system known as universal vote-by-mail — voting rates tend to rise, numerous studies have found.”
Measures to protect ballot boxes and educate the public are not a panacea. Falsehoods will persist, and opposition to vote-by-mail will continue. But lawmakers must form a firm line of defense against election terrorism.
