Thurston County video series wins award for humanizing elections

Thurston County is in the national spotlight for its award-winning video series that builds voter trust through an unfiltered storytelling of county-level vote administration. 

The video series “Your Neighbors, Your Elections,” produced by the Auditor’s Office Elections Division, won the 2024 Clearinghouse Award from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), as announced by the county in a press release on Wednesday, April 16. 

The county received the highest national recognition, which is the “Distinguished Voter Education and Communications Initiatives,” for its “excellence in voter education and communications” among the large jurisdictions in the country. It was also chosen for its strong messaging through the use of authentic county staff voices. 

“Our goal is to humanize elections. It’s so important for people to know that election workers aren’t strangers. They’re your next-door neighbors, your brother, your grandmother,” said Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall. 

Hall added, “Election integrity is our paramount duty, and this program was a powerful way to help communicate that.” 

'Your Neighbors, Your Elections' 

The county’s video series follows the daily tasks of government election employees, without scripts or edits. It gives a full view of the ballot process that is “committed to accuracy and integrity.” 

Now publicly available on YouTube, viewers can see how elections run in the county. The public workers are shown processing ballots, verifying voter signatures and fielding questions. 

One of them is Randy Gagnon, who has worked in elections for eight years. He handles intake and ballot processing during election cycles. 

“My job here is different, different types of job. I work what they call intake, which will include processing ballots from the street, prepping ballots to get ready for an inspection day, help with the machine, just pretty much everything that needs to be done in order for the ballot to get counted and processed for tabulation in the totals,” he shared. 

Gagnon said the process is tightly controlled, with two people handling ballots at every stage, from “picking up the ballots” to “counting the ballots.”  He assures that the county’s handling is a system that earns trust when seen firsthand. 

The series also includes Jack Mongin, who has worked elections since 2018. He was also named 2023 “Rising Star of the Year” by the Washington Secretary of State's Office. 

Mongin’s duties span from preparing envelope data before mailing to processing ballots and confirming signatures after they’re sent back. He described the county’s process as aligned with the “best election security practices” used across Washington and the U.S. 

“I’m really proud of the work we do here in Thurston County because we’re a leader not just in Washington, but in the nation. … Democracy doesn’t just happen. It’s a stone that has to be rolled uphill every day,” he said. 

Another employee, Tillie Naputi-Pullar has been in Thurston County elections for 24 years and appears in the series as well.

She has twice been named “Elections Employee of the Year” by the Washington Secretary of State's Office — in 2014 and again in 2021. 

“I love that I wake up in the morning excited to come to work. I find myself as a workaholic because I just love what I do,” she said. 

Naputi-Pullar’s responsibilities range from voter registration and ballot processing to answering phones and assisting with public inquiries. 

“We appreciate that you trust us with your vote. … We appreciate and we know that the job that we do is important not just for them but for ourselves,” she stated. 

Other national awards 

In addition to the top national award, the Thurston County Auditor’s Office also received an honorable mention in the Accessibility category for its “Public Transit Partnerships for Accessible Elections” program. 

The program expanded transit hours on Election Day, upgraded ADA access at the Voting Center, and added ballot drop box sites to the county’s transit maps. Vanpools were also used to ease traffic and reduce expenses.
 

“We continue to strive every year to improve how we do our work,” Hall said.  

This year’s recognition adds to a growing list of past awards for the office. 

According to the county’s press release, the Auditor’s Office has received four “National Association of Counties Achievement Awards” over the past four years. 

The Financial Services Division has also earned 18 consecutive “Certificates of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting” from the Government Finance Officers Association. 

The EAC has also acknowledged the office in the past for expanding its election observer efforts. 

The department has collected several statewide awards in recent years, including “Auditor of the Year,” “Elections Employee of the Year,” and “Elections Newcomer of the Year." 

“Awards like this recognize only our most visible efforts. Our staff works every day to serve the people of Thurston County through free, fair, secure, and transparent elections; honest and open financial services; and excellent customer service in Licensing, Recording, and Passports,” Hall said.