Washington National Guard Deploys Election Watch in Seven Counties: Plainclothes, Unarmed, No Ballot Handling
Washington National Guard members have deployed to seven counties this week under an activation order Governor Bob Ferguson signed on October 21, state media reported on October 30. The 'Election Neighborhood Watch' mission covers King, Pierce, Snohomish, Thurston, Clark, Lewis and Island counties, began on October 26 and runs until 12:01 a.m. on November 10.
State officials said the Guard members serve in plainclothes, are unarmed, do not interact with voters, keep no conspicuous presence at voting sites and do not handle ballots; their role is to support the safety of local election workers. Washington votes primarily by mail, and nearly 70 percent of returned ballots arrive through drop boxes. Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said deploying the Guard this way for election security has not been done before in the state, though the Guard has provided cybersecurity support at every election since 2016.
The deployment follows incidents including an incendiary device placed in a ballot drop box in Vancouver, Washington, in October 2024. Thurston County's auditor accepted the support and issued a clarifying statement, while a few counties, including Spokane County, declined. The state emphasized that counties choose whether to accept the support and that the mission changes no voting rules.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: King County移动投票车（资料图）。CC BY-SA 2.0，Atomic Taco from Seattle, WA, USA摄，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / King County's Votemobile (file photo). CC BY-SA 2.0, by Atomic Taco from Seattle, WA, USA, via Wikimedia Commons.
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