Members of the Washington National Guard are now watching ballot drop boxes in seven counties across the state in the final days before Tuesday's midterm election — unarmed, in plain clothes, and under orders not to interact with voters — in what Washington's secretary of state says is a first-of-its-kind mission for the state's all-mail voting system.
Source: Washington State Standard
Governor Bob Ferguson has named the mission “Election Neighborhood Watch.” Guard members were headed, as of Friday afternoon, to King, Pierce, Snohomish, Thurston, Clark, Lewis and Island counties, the Washington State Standard reported on October 30. Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, who is himself a National Guard member, said the deployment “has not been done before.”
What the Guard members will — and will not — do
Ferguson signed the activation order on October 21. It directs Guard members “to provide public safety and ballot security support” to bolster participating counties' efforts “to ensure free and fair elections.” The mission began on Monday, October 26, and runs until 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, November 10 — a full week after Election Day, while ballots are still being counted.
The personnel are to be unarmed and in plainclothes, not uniforms. They are not to interact with voters and are not to keep a conspicuous presence at drop boxes, voting centers or other places where ballots are being cast, and they work under the direction of county auditors. Their role is to observe: if they see someone trying to tamper with a box, or other unusual activity, they are to call 911 or notify local authorities.
In Pierce County, Guard members will carry out a “roving survey” of boxes, likely driving around at night and overnight making visual checks. “We don't want anybody camped out,” Pierce County Auditor Linda Farmer said. On election night, trained observers will be on hand to lock up and empty the boxes when voting ends at 8 p.m.
King County, the state's largest, is taking a similar approach. “They will simply be additional eyes and ears at drop boxes and Vote Centers, and supplement our existing security plans,” Halei Watkins, communications manager for King County Elections, said by email. “This is not intended to be a visible presence, but more folks to say something if they see something.”
No specific threat — but a charged atmosphere
County auditors say they had not detected any credible threat to drop boxes that prompted the request. When the governor offered the help, several counties accepted, seizing the chance to amplify their own efforts at no cost to local taxpayers. Spokane County declined the offer. “There's a lot of noise about elections right now,” said Linda Kent, Pierce County's deputy auditor. “Looking at the broader context, out of an abundance of caution additional resources is not a bad idea.”
Auditor Farmer said elections officials whose biggest worry was once power outages are now dealing with “threats against the people who work here and the actual ballots.” Ferguson made the same point in his letter to auditors: “Amid these recent developments and the highly charged atmosphere of this election, my administration is taking every precaution to ensure that every vote counts and that counties have the resources they need to monitor and respond to potential threats.”
The background is real. In 2024, then-Governor Jay Inslee activated the Guard after a ballot drop box was set on fire in Clark County in southwest Washington — an incendiary device damaged hundreds of ballots in Vancouver. More recently, white powder has been sent in the mail to the offices of numerous elected officials in Washington and across the country. Separately, Guard cybersecurity professionals have been activated to help with election cybersecurity tasks at every election since 2016, according to the governor's office.
Federal monitors are coming too
The Guard will not be the only outside presence. The U.S. Department of Justice is sending eight monitors to King County, who are interested in observing ballot counting, vote centers and some of the county's 101 drop boxes. The last time federal monitors were sent to the county was 2008. Elections Director Julie Wise said they will have “the same level of access as the public does. Nothing more, nothing less.” Yakima County will also host a couple of federal monitors, who will not come inside its election center and will only interact with people who engage with them, Auditor Charles Ross said.
Ballots must be in a drop box by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3, or postmarked by that day. The Guard watchers cannot take your ballot, answer questions or help you vote — they only observe and report problems. You can check that your ballot was accepted at VoteWA.gov.
What is solid
- The Washington mission is a state activation ordered by Governor Ferguson: unarmed, plainclothes Guard members, working for county auditors, watching drop boxes in seven counties until November 10.
- County auditors say no specific credible threat to drop boxes prompted the requests; counties accepted free extra security in a tense election climate.
What is only claimed
- An October 28 report by independent journalist Ken Klippenstein, citing unnamed military sources, claimed Guard units are mobilizing in all 50 states for the midterms. No state, the Pentagon or the National Guard Bureau has confirmed that claim, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine has said the military has no plans to send federal troops or federalized Guard members to polling places.
What happens next
The watch runs through election night and the first week of counting, ending at 12:01 a.m. on November 10. For Washington's large mail-voting population — including Punjabi and other South Asian communities concentrated around Seattle, King County and the I-5 corridor, for whom the drop box is the normal way to vote — the practical message from officials is that voting itself has not changed: same boxes, same 8 p.m. deadline, with extra eyes watching over them. “We regularly welcome observers of all kinds, and are confident in our team and processes,” King County's Watkins wrote. “We are expecting smooth sailing.”