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Resource Report - 39 League of Women Voters of Thurston County · Resource Report

0:20
Hello and welcome to Resource Report, where we
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share with you important information about local
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nonprofits and resource organizations that support
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the community we share, produced by Pathways
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to Agency. I am your host, Rainmaker. Today's
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guest is Samantha Birch, Secretary for the Thurston
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County Chapter of the League of Women Voters.
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Here's Samantha. I am here at Chaos Radio Station
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today with Samantha Birch of the League of Women
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Voters of Thurston County. How are you doing
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today, Samantha? I'm doing great. Okay, awesome.
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Can you please reintroduce yourself and share
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with us your position at the League of Women
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Voters and how did you come to be here? Yeah,
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so of course my name is Samantha Birch and I
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am the Secretary of the League of Women Voters
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Thurston County Chapter Board of Directors and
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I moved here from California as my parents are
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aging and I decided I don't think that being
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Two days away is a great idea as my parents are
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getting older, so I moved up here to have kind
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of a fresh start in Thurston County, and I'm
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super excited to be here. It's been a great community
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so far. Oh, that's wonderful. You know, there
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is the United States League of Women Voters,
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the Washington League of Women Voters, and our
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little county one. Can you please give a little
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overview of those histories, and what are their
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differences and similarities? Right. Well, I'm
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studying their bylaws to ensure our chapter is
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in compliance. But however, if you do want to
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learn more, there's really great information
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at the League of Women Voters YouTube channel.
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You can watch Celebrating the League of Women
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Voters Anniversary. This video highlights the
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broader historical legacy and founding activist
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roots of the national organization. that the
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Thurston County chapter is built upon. So I think
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it's a great starting point. I, however, do know
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a lot about our local chapter's history. It was
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founded in 1961. It operates as a local chapter
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of both the League of Women Voters of the state
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of Washington and the League of Women Voters
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of the United States. The national state organizations
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were founded in 1920, the same year the 19th
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Amendment granted women the right to vote. Awesome.
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And what are the mission, vision, and goals?
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Right. Well, our motto, and I think it's more
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important than ever, is empowering voters and
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defending democracy. The modern mission of the
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Thurston County chapter is to ensure that all
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community members have a voice in the democratic
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process, operating as a grassroots, nonpartisan,
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civic organization. The League of Women Voters,
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our mission is to work. tirelessly to ensure
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that every eligible resident has the access,
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the knowledge and opportunity to make their voice
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heard. We envision a robust local democracy where
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every community member actively participates
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in shaping our future. Part of the mission is
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to be steadfastly nonpartisan. We never support,
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oppose, or endorse any political candidate or
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party. However, this is frequently confused with
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being nonpolitical. We are deeply engaged in
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the political process and actively take principled
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positions on issues that impact our community.
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Awesome. That sounds rad. Thank you. What do
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y 'all actually do? I saw on the website there's
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informed and active participation in government.
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Can you break all of that down? Yeah, I mean,
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we register voters in a highly active, boots
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-on -the -ground approach to voter registration,
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primarily driven through our amazing voter services
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committees. Really incredible people give their
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time to run them and make sure that everyone
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can participate. So we do community tabling where
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a number of us will set up booths at local Thurston
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County events, farmers markets and community
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gatherings. We provide registration forms, answer
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questions about eligibility and help people navigate
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address changes or signature updates. I mean,
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these can be really hard to navigate. And if
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we don't help people with that, some people may
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not, you know, may not have their voice heard
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or cast their ballot to vote. We also really
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heavily focus on future voters. So Washington
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State allows 16 and 17 -year -olds to pre -register
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to vote. The local Thurston County League actively
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partners with the Olympia School District, Tumwater
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School District, and rural districts, reaching
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out to students in Yelm, Rochester, and Tenino
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to register these teens so they are automatically
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able to vote in the first election following
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their 18th birthday. We also give out little
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slips of paper with a QR code that links you
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directly to the state's secure VoteWashington
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.gov portal, making on -the -spot registration
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fast and accessible. We also focus on education,
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and we have this amazing civics textbook program
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where this highly acclaimed civics textbook produced
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by the State League is uniquely comprehensive
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because it is the only textbook that fully integrates
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historical and current tribal government as an
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equal working part of the civics curriculum.
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And as somebody who is of mixed heritage, I am
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part Seminole. I find that extremely empowering
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and really amazing that the League does that.
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So the Thurston County chapter actively raises
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money through the Civic Textbook Fund. We raise
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funds via donations and grants. These grants
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and donations are used directly to purchase and
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distribute these textbooks, which come in both
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elementary grades 3 to 5 and secondary grades
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6 to 12. to local schools, ESL programs, and
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GED classrooms free of charge. And I think that
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is really important. So teachers and administrators
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in Thurston County looking to request donated
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physical copies for their classrooms can reach
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out to the Thurston County chapter directly through
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their website's email, info at lwvthurston .org.
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They can also contact Karen Verrill. the project
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manager for the League of Women Voters of Washington
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Civics Education Project, who oversees the distribution
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and can connect local educators with available
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resources. We also provide a lot of nonpartisan
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voter information. We do this through two primary
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local initiatives, candidate forums. We have
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available Public Utility District 1, County Commission
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District 5, and Congressional District 10, Legislative
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District 2, and 35 House. So we have a directory
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called the TRI. The TRI directory. How do you
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spell that? T -R -Y? What they are is, is there
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a directory that gives you all of the information
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on your, it is going to be your current elected
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officials. Okay. So we can go to the website
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and find where it says your currently elected
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officials. Right. So to access that, you're going
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to go to the website. You're going to hover over
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our works. You're going to drop down to, I think
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it's defending democracy. And when you click
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on that, there is going to be a page that is
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going to offer you that directory. And then you
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can access the tribe brochure from there. And
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you can access it electronically. But if you
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do want to get like a hard copy, you can wherever
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we're tabling or Thurston County Library branches,
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you can grab those hard copies. Great. Are they
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able to be received by mail? You know, I haven't
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seen anything mentioned about that, but I think
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that would be a great idea. It could maybe just
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call you guys up and say, hey, here's my address.
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Can y 'all mail me a copy? That sounds like a
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great idea. I will definitely take that back
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to my board. Thank you. That's amazing. And you
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can get those at the library too, you said? Yes.
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Awesome. Okay, so we talked about what y 'all
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do, but how do y 'all do it? The League never
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advocates based on a whim. Advocacy is strictly
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rooted in rigorous member -led research. When
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the local chapter identifies a pressing community
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issue, it forms a committee to study that issue.
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So once a study is completed, the committee presents
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the findings to the full membership. We only
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adopt a formal position on the issue if the membership
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reaches a broad consensus. You mentioned the
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studies on there. So that link to the studies
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can take you to the information about the studies
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that you have in the past and are actively working
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on right now. Correct? Correct. Awesome. Okay.
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And then y 'all are taking the information from
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that study that y 'all are conducting and putting
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it out there for the community members to find
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out that information so they can make an informed
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decision on whether or not they want to support
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that policy with their votes. That's how that
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works? Yes, that is. You summed it up wonderful.
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So y 'all support people with information on
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different policies. Y 'all can support policies
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but not support candidates. Yes. So what are
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the policies that y 'all are currently supporting
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right now? Yes. So if you want to see our policy
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positions, you would go to About Us, Mission
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and Vision. And then policies and positions.
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Okay. So, and then you would scroll all the way
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down to the bottom of the page where you see
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our beautiful white Capitol building. And you
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would then press on studies and it takes you
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to updates about the water study, the local good
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governance coalition, Thurston County tribal
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position update, and speak out for equity. So
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those are some of our policies. The voter campaign
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highlights that local elected officials make
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the decisions that residents actually see and
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feel the moment they walk out their front door.
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A vote locally directly impacts public health
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and county resources where you live. It impacts
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the decisions that the Board of County Commissioners
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make who directly appoint the... Sitting members
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of the Treatment Sales Tax Advisory Committee
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and the Behavioral Health Funds Advisory Committee,
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both of these committees send up information
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and reports to the Board of Commissioners that
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help to direct and shape how we address mental
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health and substance use in our county. So when
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you vote for someone who is a local official,
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you get very direct accountability. That's kind
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of something that our Be A Voter campaign really
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emphasizes is not only are these people directly
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accountable to you, but they're highly accessible
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within your community. I mean, you can see them
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at the grocery store, at a YWCA event, at the
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Thurston County Fair. So, I mean, they live with
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you. They're not living out in Washington, D
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.C. and completely don't. really know what's
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going on in thurston county and like the president's
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not gonna like specifically be concerned with
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what goes on someone who has said in their patty
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murray on speed dial right now not kidding that's
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great so you know what i want to say is that
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one of our biggest messages at the league is
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that voting in a local election isn't just about
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picking a winner. It's the first step in establishing
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a direct line of accountability with the people
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tasked to manage your community, not the United
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States, but where you live. Local level is very
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different than federal level. Oh, absolutely.
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You know, the local level is much more specialized
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to us. It's going to make a difference in our
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lives far more than even at the federal level.
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We table at events to help people get registered
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to vote. We tend to be at, like, farmers markets,
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festivals, and community centers to register
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voters and update addresses and distribute nonpartisan
13:11
election materials. And that's really important
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because we're not out to deceive you. We don't
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have an agenda. We're just out there to educate
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you on every single individual that is running
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for office. Yeah, there are specific parameters.
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You know, in the nonprofit world, when you're
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registered as a nonprofit, you cannot endorse
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a candidate, but you can provide information
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about all the available candidates and what their
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policies are on. And you're just trying to make
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that information more accessible to the community.
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Is that correct? Yes, that is. And I think it's
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one of them. I mean, that's one of the main reasons
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why I joined the League of Women Voters. I think
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it's one of the most important things that we
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do. We advocate for secure, accessible elections.
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We actively fight against anti -voter legislation.
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And we observe local government meetings to ensure
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transparency and public accountability. And one
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of the most exciting developments is that we
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are soon to restart our observer corps. at our
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local chapter, which does just this work. And
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I'm excited to take an active and front seat
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role in that as we are rolling that program back
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out. And, you know, we're going to get to meet
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soon with our newly invigorated committee. So
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that's going to be, that's very exciting, a committee
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which I'm going to be a part of. So, of course,
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our committees are what drive a lot of our action.
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We have our Voter Services Committee, which handles
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the direct -to -voters task, including the TRY
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directory. They also do candidate forums, but
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we also have a separate committee that also does
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candidate forums. So the Voter Services also
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does community tabling, and, of course, they
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work in tandem with the Candidate Forums Committee,
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which deals exclusively with candidate forums.
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So voter services kind of does all the umbrella
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work, and the candidate forums committee is just
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candidate forums. What are the candidate forums?
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So for both primary and general elections, but
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for both primary and general elections, the League
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of Women Voters of Thurston County Chapter organizes
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and moderates direct candidate forums to ensure
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maximum accessibility. These forums are professionally
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recorded at the Thurston County. media or tc
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media a huge thank you to tc media by the way
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studios and broadcasts locally these events allow
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voters to hear candidates answer direct community
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submitted questions under strict time limits
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ensuring equal speaking time and lack of partisan
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framing so every candidate comes there and they're
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treated exactly the same regardless of where
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they're running who they're running what they're
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running for or which party they are affiliated
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with. So we have city and town leadership like
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mayoral and city council. We do it for all of
16:18
these cities in Thurston County. We have Thurston
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County government, of course, the state legislator,
16:25
the school board, Port of Olympia and public
16:28
utility district. So it's really great because
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you get a whole spread of all of these elections
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and all of the candidates who are running in
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them. You can watch the recent League of Women
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Voters of Thurston County candidate forums online
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through TC Media's YouTube channel, and they
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are under the LWV candidate forums playlist.
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So our invitation process is that candidates
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will receive a formal invitation detailing the
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date, time, and strict reservation deadline.
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The communication heavily emphasizes the nonpartisan
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nature of the event and outlines the ground rules
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early on so candidates know exactly what to expect.
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We do often also encourage local constituents
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to reach out to their candidates and urge them
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to join us at our candidate forums. So I don't
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think we had this problem in our last candidate
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forums, but we do have an empty chair rule that
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just maintains fairness and to avoid making us
17:28
look partisan or like we're championing a certain
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candidate. If there is like less than two candidates
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for that particular forum, we don't run that
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specific race on our forum because it makes us
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look partisan. And we really want to avoid that.
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You've got to be able to hear from more than
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one party. Yeah. Yeah. So for the setup and preparation,
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you know, while candidates prepare their platforms,
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the league's candidate forums committee handles
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the logistics, which is absolutely incredible
18:03
and a little insane. It evolves. You know, a
18:09
crucial media partnership with TC Media. Again,
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they are amazing. Shout out to TC Media. So instead
18:17
of like renting out a high school gym or something,
18:20
the Thurston County chapter partners with TC
18:23
Media. I interviewed Martha Correa with TC Media
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a while back. They were on Resource Report. And
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people can go to our archive site to check out
18:33
that interview whenever they want to. Cool. I
18:36
mean, yeah. TC Media is amazing, and we are ever
18:40
grateful to them. Yes, indeed. So, selecting
18:44
moderators for each of the races is extremely
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important. They have to be strictly neutral.
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There cannot be any conflict of interest, and
18:53
they have to be adept at enforcing rules, cutting
18:57
off microphones if necessary, and maintaining
18:59
a firm but gracious tone. So, I mean, it takes
19:03
a special person to be a moderator. So the League
19:07
solicits questions from the community beforehand.
19:10
So it's a great place that, you know, if you
19:12
want a question of yours answered, you know,
19:15
feel free to submit it. I did see a place on
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y 'all's website where you can submit a question.
19:20
That's really awesome. Yeah, it's great. And
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again, it brings back to why voting in these
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local races is so important. You have a direct
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line of communication and you can directly ask
19:33
questions. You can't. do that in these bigger
19:36
federal elections is it possible to like if someone's
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not able to access your website online but they
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can communicate with you they can reach out can
19:45
they call the legal women voters of thurston
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county and ask their question to someone on the
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phone one of you guys and you can write it down
19:53
i mean i would imagine yes i don't think anyone's
19:56
going to be like oh no we're not going to take
19:57
your question over the phone accessibility is
19:59
super important yes i So after the questions
20:03
are there, a committee reviews and screens those
20:06
questions to ensure that they cover a broad range
20:09
of local issues, are applicable to all candidates,
20:12
and are completely free of partisan framing or
20:15
personal attacks. And I think those last two
20:17
are absolutely one of the most important. Two
20:19
of the most important. And then it comes to running
20:24
the forum, which I have been a part of. So we
20:30
have a very strict equal time enforcement. Every
20:32
candidate receives the exact same amount of time
20:35
for opening statements, questions, responses,
20:38
and closing remarks. Typically, it's about one
20:41
to two minutes. A dedicated timer uses, you know,
20:45
like a very highly visible screen. To run a timer
20:49
in order to keep candidates on track so everyone
20:51
can see how their time is moving and the moderator
20:55
can see it and kind of, you know, maybe urge
20:58
candidates to close their statement. If a candidate
21:02
does speak past their time, the moderator...
21:06
We'll, you know, very kindly interrupt them and
21:08
kind of let them know it's time to stop. So we
21:10
do have a no props rule. Candidates are seated
21:13
at a table with only water and a notepad and
21:16
a pen. They are strictly forbidden from bringing
21:18
campaign literature, wearing campaign buttons,
21:21
or using props on stage. Again, this kind of
21:23
goes back to being nonpartisan and not propping
21:27
up any single candidate. So there's also no substitutes.
21:31
So if they have an emergency or they can't be
21:34
there, you can't send a representative. And is
21:37
that for the moderator? No, that is for the candidates.
21:40
Okay. Okay. Yeah. Thank you. Sorry about that.
21:44
So the candidates, yeah, the candidates cannot
21:45
have like, you know, a campaign manager or a
21:48
surrogate speak on their behalf. And then after
21:52
all of that, we do have to wrap it up. and i
21:55
think that we just go straight to live yeah we're
21:57
live we don't edit those okay so that's a live
22:01
candidate forum yep you are the pressure is on
22:06
because they are live so they're they're live
22:09
streaming yes and i think that that is done for
22:11
transparency I like that. That's really great
22:15
because there's a lot of different funny business
22:18
that can go on whenever you're doing a prerecorded
22:22
anything with anybody that is affiliated in government
22:27
because people can take those clips and they
22:30
can... edit their conversations, their speeches
22:35
to remove things or even put things in. And this
22:41
has also been a problem with deep faking as well,
22:45
where there's a lot of misinformation going on.
22:48
So knowing that those forums are live streamed
22:51
on TC Media is so empowering to know that we
22:54
are getting the facts and the truth as it's coming
22:57
out of their mouths. Thank you for making sure
22:59
that's clarified. Yes. So it is also on TC Media's
23:05
YouTube channel. It is live streamed. And I believe
23:08
it's also on local public access television channel
23:10
77. Channel 77. Yes. Awesome. And there's places
23:16
where people can provide feedback. Yes. You can
23:21
even just send it to like our league email or
23:23
call our phone number. I mean, we're always excited
23:26
to hear feedback. you can comment on the live
23:29
streamed YouTube videos. We're paying attention
23:31
to all of that. Awesome. Okay, so... And then
23:47
who can vote? Who can vote? Anyone who is a citizen
23:51
18 years of age and is not currently incarcerated.
23:55
In the criminal justice system, however, folks
23:57
who have been released are eligible. And does
24:01
that include homeless individuals? Yes. So obviously
24:06
homeless individuals don't have an address. So
24:11
I'd like to know for those who would also want
24:16
to know, how does that work out? How do they
24:19
get to register to vote and where can they vote
24:22
and so forth? So if they want to register to
24:26
vote, they can come and see us, the League of
24:28
Women Voters, and we will get them registered
24:30
to vote. So as far as how to vote, and I want
24:34
to thank you, by the way, because that is a great
24:36
question. Well, it's an informed question, actually,
24:40
because I had interviewed previously a person
24:44
named Phoenix who is of Integrate, a 501c3 nonprofit
24:50
organization that was created by groups of individuals
24:55
and homeless folks from the jungle encampment
24:58
and a couple of other encampments that we had
25:00
in the past. And in that interview, Phoenix detailed
25:05
for me. particular incident where the city of
25:09
olympia uh came out and said here you can come
25:15
and take your census with us and you can vote
25:18
and we'll set you all up to vote and they totally
25:21
gaslit them and they brought them over to this
25:25
place to go do that and do their voting and they
25:28
were given food and snacks and everything and
25:31
it was totally okay if they didn't have an id
25:34
they could just sign Their name is X and their
25:37
votes would go through. And then they come back
25:41
to their encampment to find out that the road
25:43
was blocked and they were going to bulldoze where
25:45
they were actually legal on paper promised that
25:48
they would not be bulldozed if they went and
25:50
consented to do the census as well as having
25:57
the opportunity to vote. And none of their votes
25:59
were actually gathered. And this was all documented
26:03
in their court. case and everything. And so there's
26:08
litigation that where they had pushed back this
26:10
organization integrate. And so that is partly
26:13
where my question comes from. Because I'm looking
26:16
also for transparency. And we understand that
26:20
you are not City of Olympia. League of Women
26:22
Voters is an organization dedicated to supporting
26:28
all of our community members in thurston county
26:31
with the knowledge information and ability to
26:34
vote and processes and helps them being able
26:38
to vote and so i'm just like making sure that
26:43
it is possible that it is factual that homeless
26:46
individuals do have the legal right to vote because
26:50
they are also part of our community yes they
26:53
do and so how they're going to do that is they
26:55
are going to receive general delivery mail and
26:59
you can choose one of these post offices to receive
27:02
generally general delivery mail so if you're
27:04
housing insecure you would put your name so an
27:07
example would be john smith general delivery
27:09
olympia washington and so And on here, it also
27:15
says that you may register to vote or update
27:17
your registration in person at a voting center
27:20
or at the auditor's office until 8 p .m. on election
27:22
day. To register online, you go to VoteWashington
27:28
.gov or call the elections office at 360 -786
27:33
-5408. That's great. We didn't talk about the
27:48
charter in detail. What's that? The charter government
27:52
policy, the home rule. What's that one? Remember,
27:54
it's where we want to turn our county into a
27:56
charter policy. Into a charter county? Let's
28:00
talk about that. What is that? I haven't even
28:02
heard about that. Oh, so this has been an initiative
28:06
that a number of organizations have been pushing
28:08
for. It's to turn our county from a regular county
28:13
into a charter county. What is a charter county?
28:17
I've like never heard of this. So charter counties
28:19
are counties where they function a bit differently
28:24
than a regular county and it gives voters more
28:27
power to direct how their county functions. So
28:31
it makes it so the county can separate its legislative
28:35
and executive branches. Instead of a standard
28:37
three to five member board of county commissioners,
28:40
we can have more. It gives voter initiatives
28:43
and referendums. It allows residents to gain
28:47
the power to directly propose new local laws,
28:50
initiatives. or repeal existing ones, referendums,
28:53
through the ballot box. The county can decide
28:56
which previously elected administration positions,
28:58
such as coroner or clerk, should instead be appointed,
29:02
and it can make local races partisan or nonpartisan.
29:05
It allows voters to set term limits for locally
29:09
elected officials as well. So it gives the county
29:12
a little bit more freedom. It gives voters more
29:15
authority in the structure and function of the
29:17
county. You said term limits. Wow. That's pretty
29:23
amazing. Like, what are the charter counties
29:25
in Washington? Well, Washington has seven charter
29:29
counties. Oh. Kuala Lumpur, Clark, King, Paris,
29:33
San Juan, Snohomish, and Whatcom. Thank you for
29:38
sharing that. That's really good to know. One
29:50
of our committees that are driven through action
29:54
is our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice,
29:58
our DEIJ committee. They're still essentially
30:03
forming, but they are already amazing. So their
30:07
work ensures that the League's internal practices
30:09
and external outreach authentically engage all
30:12
households and communities within Thurston County.
30:17
partnering with local colleges, municipal governments
30:20
to broaden civic participation. The League was
30:23
a key participant in this year's Diversity, Equity,
30:26
and Belonging, or DEIB, summit. I was honored
30:30
to personally go and be one of the volunteers.
30:33
The DEIB summit was a huge success, and we are
30:37
already helping to facilitate next year's summit.
30:40
Also, this year's summit was the first one, so
30:43
we are very excited for the future. Awesome.
30:48
You know, I recently interviewed the communications
30:51
director with the State Office of Equity. And
30:57
so one of the things I asked her, I'm going to
31:00
ask you the same thing, is a lot of organizations
31:03
are... A lot of organizations are losing funding
31:11
because they have DEI in their language. That's
31:14
federal funding because of our current administration's
31:19
policies around that. And so I'm wondering about
31:24
your funding for League of Women Voters in any
31:28
capacity. How is that working out for you guys?
31:31
Are y 'all being affected by the federal anti
31:34
-DEI policies at all? But I'm going to say no.
31:40
And what she had said was their funding does
31:44
not come through the federal government, so it
31:46
didn't affect them at all. So no, the League
31:50
of Women Voters of Thurston County does not receive
31:52
direct federal funding at all. So it doesn't
31:56
impact us. That's really reassuring to know.
31:59
Yes. Yeah. The administration seems like they
32:04
are trying to make people feel like it's affecting
32:07
everybody, but apparently it's not affecting
32:10
everybody the way that they think it is. No,
32:14
I mean a lot of what we do is grassroots, and
32:17
it does not rely on federal government funding.
32:19
It relies on our local community. Independence
32:21
is amazing. Yes, indeed. Thank you. All right,
32:39
so I'm going to take you through the step -by
32:41
-step process to how your ballot is handled and
32:44
counted. So Thurston County processes mail -in
32:48
ballots through a strict six -step pipeline designed
32:52
to verify voter identity while keeping individual
32:54
voters completely anonymous. Step one is secure
32:59
collection and transport. So dual custody transport.
33:04
Teams of two election workers collect ballots
33:07
from the county's 31 secure drop boxes and local
33:10
post offices. They keep a tamper evidence log.
33:18
Workers seal the transport bins with numbered
33:21
plastic tags and log them to ensure no ballots
33:25
are added or removed during transport. So, delivery.
33:32
The bins are delivered directly to the Thurston
33:34
County Ballot Processing Center in Tumwater.
33:38
So step two is batching and scanning envelopes.
33:44
Arrival logging. Inbound bins are weighed and
33:48
the total number of envelopes is recorded. Barcode
33:52
scanning. A high -speed sorting machine scans
33:56
the unique barcode on the back of each return
33:59
envelope. Then, the voter's status is checked.
34:05
The scan logs that the voter has returned a ballot,
34:10
which automatically prevents them from submitting
34:12
a second vote in the same election. Then we have
34:17
step three, which is signature verification.
34:20
Image capture. And I know that I am kind of being
34:24
repetitive by saying the steps before I read
34:26
the sentence, but I think it's really important
34:28
that I give a lot of detail on this because I
34:30
think that ballot security has been a really
34:33
big topic. Yeah. So again, back to image capture.
34:38
The sorting machine takes a digital photograph
34:40
of the voter's signature on the envelope. Human
34:44
Review trained staff compared the signature photo
34:47
against the legal signature on the voter's registration
34:50
file. And that's huge because if you try to sign
34:54
someone else's ballot and send it in, they're
34:57
going to catch that. Wow. So handling discrepancies.
35:04
If a signature is missing or does not match,
35:06
the ballot is flagged as challenged. And the
35:10
county contacts the voter by mail. And phone
35:13
so they can correct it before election results
35:15
are certified. So there is a verification process.
35:21
During this, a lot of other things are also checked.
35:24
You know, I mean, they're going to know. Opening
35:29
and anonymization. Envelope separation. Verified
35:35
envelopes are run through a machine that slices
35:38
open the top edge. Privacy protection. Election
35:42
workers remove the inner security sleeve containing
35:45
the ballot. That outer envelope with the voter's
35:49
name is separated and filed away, making it impossible
35:54
to link the ballot back to the voter's identity
35:56
at that point. Inspection. Workers remove the
36:03
ballot from the security sleeve and check it
36:05
for physical damage, stains, or stray marks that
36:09
might jam the scanning machine. So this is going
36:13
to now be step five, scanning and resolution.
36:16
Digital scanning. High -speed scanners read the
36:19
ink marks on the anonymized ballots and create
36:21
a digital image of each page. The resolution
36:25
team. If a scanner detects a voter used a green
36:29
pen, made a mistake, and crossed it out or wrote
36:32
in a candidate, a bipartisan two -person team
36:36
reviews the digital image to determine the voter's
36:39
clear intent. Duplication. If a ballot is physically
36:43
torn or wrinkled, the bipartisan team duplicates
36:47
the voter's exact choices onto a fresh ballot
36:50
so it can be successfully read by the scanner.
36:53
So part six is tabulation and storage. Data storage.
36:59
The scanned votes tallies are security stored
37:02
on an isolated server that has zero internet
37:05
connection to prevent outside hacking. results
37:09
release at exactly 8 p .m. on election night,
37:12
the county clicks tabulate to compile the running
37:17
totals and uploads the first batch of official
37:19
results. Secure archiving. Physical ballots are
37:25
sealed in numbered boxes and stored in a secure
37:28
room under 24 -7 video surveillance for a legally
37:32
mandated retention period. And that is the last
37:38
step. Awesome. Thank you. Do you have any upcoming
37:53
events that we should know about? Yeah, we do.
37:58
We have Coffee with the League, which we have
38:00
every Tuesday at the Riverside Restaurant in
38:03
Tumwater. So you can absolutely come and join
38:06
us. You do not have to be a member. We often
38:08
have speakers. We're always talking about the
38:11
work that is done with the League of Women Voters,
38:12
and everyone's welcome. And I know that we say
38:15
that we are the League of Women Voters, but we
38:17
are for everybody. So you don't have to be a
38:20
woman. You can be a man. You can be anyone, and
38:23
you are welcome to join. Awesome. Thank you.
38:28
How can people get involved? It looks like you
38:31
can become a member. You can donate and you can
38:34
also subscribe to the newsletter. Can you talk
38:37
about those? Right. So anyone 16 years of age
38:40
or older is welcome to join the league. You can
38:43
join at the local Thurston County chapter. You
38:46
can go to our website and join from there. You
38:50
can also come in person and join at our coffee
38:55
as well or anywhere you see us. feel free. Somebody
38:58
will be excited to help you join the Lady Woman
39:00
Voters. We believe that financial constraints
39:03
should not prevent somebody from becoming a member.
39:07
So in general, there is a small fee, but it can
39:10
be waived. We also have sliding scale dues. So
39:14
you can have dues of $75 or $20, or you can have
39:19
them, you know, we have membership scholarships
39:21
where you can have that financial barrier waived
39:23
completely. How much is a regular membership?
39:29
The base price is $20. $20? Okay. And so what
39:33
step does someone go through to register as a
39:37
member? And if they need to, you know, if they
39:41
have financial constraints and they need to ask
39:43
for that sliding scale or that waiver, how do
39:47
they go about doing that? So you would either
39:49
call or email us on our website if you just want
39:55
to. And I think you can also wave it. If you
39:59
click on the Join Now button, and that just takes
40:01
you to a page where you can self -register. I
40:03
believe that you can also wave it through there.
40:06
But if you're unable to, I would just contact
40:08
us through the email and phone number that we
40:10
have, and we will go ahead and get that taken
40:12
care of. Is it like just a conversation? Hey,
40:15
this is my situation. I really want to join,
40:17
but like... I ain't got nothing, honey. And I
40:21
just, but I want to, you know, or is it like
40:24
your financial documentation to prove that you're
40:27
on food stamps? No, it's, I mean, I can't say
40:33
with 100 % certainty because this is not my area,
40:36
but I'm almost certain that that is not the case.
40:38
Awesome. Okay. Okay, cool. That's really good
40:41
to know. But can you share what that would look
40:43
like for someone who is joining as a member?
40:46
What would they have access to? Well, after you
40:48
register, you'll be sent an email and then you
40:52
will be given a temporary password and login.
40:58
You'll log in and then you will be able to register.
41:01
After you have registered, then you will be able
41:04
to go into that member button. And it's essentially
41:07
the same thing, except for you have more links
41:09
and more access and deeper access to persons
41:11
of the website that somebody who is not a member
41:14
wouldn't. Like you can see the full name of our
41:15
board, etc. Awesome. Thanks. And then how can
41:22
people donate? All right. So if you don't have
41:26
the capacity to volunteer and you still want
41:29
to champion our mission, financial contributions
41:32
are, of course, wonderful. And I do recommend
41:35
that you donate. Your donations will remain local,
41:38
directly funding community resources like the
41:41
Civic Textbook Fund that we talked about, sending
41:44
out textbooks to various schools. for more education
41:48
on our local and Indigenous tribes. And the Tri
41:53
-E program, you know, they represent you, directories,
41:56
that teach us about our local officials that
42:00
we discussed earlier. So you can make a secure
42:04
tax -deductible contribution on the Join Now
42:07
page of our website. It will be a big button
42:10
right there. You can't miss it. So another way
42:14
to kind of keep up with us is to read our newsletter,
42:19
The Voter. It delivers nonpartisan voter information,
42:23
upcoming community tabling events, updates on
42:26
our local studies, and critical election deadlines.
42:30
Now, unfortunately, I believe on our website,
42:33
it is going to be the archived older editions
42:37
of The Voter. but you can go to any edition that
42:42
you would like to read. So I would say probably
42:44
like the upcoming events, et cetera, could be
42:46
a little bit outdated. And do you have any printed
42:53
hard copy issues of your newsletter at all that
42:55
people can pick up? You know, I bet you you can
43:00
probably request one and get one. I don't know.
43:06
of anything that we would actively have right
43:08
now where you could just go get a printed copy
43:10
but I'm I mean I think you can also print it
43:15
out as well but no I don't know of anything where
43:19
we directly have a printed copy that doesn't
43:21
mean we don't that just means I don't know okay
43:22
so We can go find the, we can read the newsletters
43:27
like a blog on your website, and those are going
43:30
to be older. But if you want to receive fresh
43:34
new information updates, then you just go sign
43:37
up to receive the newsletter in your email. Yes,
43:42
but I believe that you have to be a member to
43:44
do that. You have to be a member. Yes. So non
43:47
-members, you can just go to the standard regular
43:49
website, but you'll find old ones. Yeah, I mean,
43:54
I don't 100 % know for sure. Okay. I apologize.
43:58
I wish I did. That's okay. But I do believe you
44:00
have to become a member to get them in your inbox.
44:04
Awesome. Okay, and final question. Is there anything
44:15
else you would like to share? Yeah, I do actually
44:18
want to... Let's see. So... I want to talk a
44:23
little bit more about our Be a Voter campaign.
44:25
It goes beyond inspiring citizens. It actively
44:29
breaks down the logistical barriers to casting
44:31
a ballot. We talked a little bit about that with
44:34
the struggles of unhoused individuals to vote.
44:38
The League provides clear, actionable information
44:41
to ensure that once a voter is registered, their
44:44
ballot is successfully returned and counted.
44:50
One of the major reality checks I wanted to give
44:52
is that only 40 % of registered voters cast their
44:57
ballot in the past election. That's insane to
45:04
me because that means that even less, a lesser
45:07
percentage of all eligible adults even cast a
45:11
ballot. I hope by highlighting this statistic,
45:16
the League of Women Voters of Thurston County
45:17
can illustrate that a small minority of the community
45:20
is currently making the decisions for the entire
45:23
county. I hope to urge people who haven't voted
45:29
or stepped up to vote to claim their piece of
45:31
the pie in elections that have a direct impact
45:34
on them and are often won by very narrow margins.
45:39
And I also really want to champion the ballot
45:42
drop boxes and give you guys some really good
45:44
information on that. So to ensure votes are counted,
45:48
the league heavily promotes the use of Thurston
45:50
County secure ballot drop boxes as the absolute
45:54
best method for returning a ballot. So regardless
45:58
of your housing situation, once you get that
46:01
ballot in the mail. The recommendation, if you
46:05
can, is to take it to the Thurston County Secure
46:07
drop boxes where you can cast this vote. There
46:12
is widespread access. The Thurston County Auditor
46:14
maintains over 30 official drop boxes spread
46:17
across the county from Olympia and Tumwater to
46:20
Yown, Rochester and Steamboat Island. There's
46:23
even one right here on campus at Evergreen. That's
46:26
awesome. I mean, that's great. It makes it...
46:30
Because you know you're busy, you're a student,
46:32
and you just come and fill out your ballot and
46:34
drop it off. It's right up here in the front
46:35
at the library loop. That's great. You can find
46:40
the official up -to -date list of all 31 secure
46:42
ballot drop box locations provided by the Thurston
46:46
County Auditor's Office on their webpage called
46:50
Thurston County Ballot Drop Locations. So if
46:54
you type that in to your search engine, it should
46:57
take you to that page. This page includes a breakdown
47:00
of drop boxes by area, like Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater,
47:03
North County, South County, etc., and confirms
47:06
what specific boxes are open for the current
47:09
election cycle. So as far as security, these
47:12
boxes are open 24 hours a day during the 20 -day
47:16
voting period and are emptied regularly by two
47:19
official election staff members working in tandem.
47:23
So that's great. That means we have official
47:25
members who know how to handle these ballots
47:27
who are arriving to empty these boxes. So it
47:32
is a much better guarantee. Drop boxes are the
47:34
only way to guarantee a ballot is received on
47:36
time without relying on mail routing. They require
47:39
no postage and voters have until exactly 8 p
47:43
.m. on election day to deposit their envelopes.
47:46
So it gets a little bit more complicated when
47:49
you start using USPS mailing. So this is where
47:54
there are a few things that can kind of go sideways
47:57
and your vote may not be counted. So because
48:02
Washington is a vote -by -mail state, every ballot
48:05
comes with prepaid return postage. However, relying
48:10
on the United States Postal Service requires
48:13
careful timing, which the league explicitly warns
48:17
voters about. And we're going to get into that.
48:20
So the one -week rule. The campaign strongly
48:24
encourages... Everyone using USPS to put their
48:29
ballot in the mail at least a week in advance
48:31
of Election Day. Because you want to avoid the
48:37
postmark trap. By law, a mailed ballot must be
48:40
postmarked by Election Day to be valid. If a
48:44
voter drops their ballot in a standard blue postal
48:47
box late on a Monday afternoon on or on Election
48:52
Day, It frequently will not receive a postmark
48:56
until the following morning. The ballot will
48:59
be rejected. So that's why it's got to be a week
49:04
before. That way there's no chance, no chance
49:07
that this ballot is going to be rejected. The
49:11
league's one -week rule is designed to eliminate
49:13
this risk entirely. So, I mean, it's not a certainty,
49:18
but it is a risk when we're voting much later.
49:22
That's really good to know. A lot of people get
49:25
confused around those things. Thank you for clarifying
49:27
that. Going back to that low statistic number
49:41
that you gave regarding how many people are actually
49:46
voting for the whole county. Yeah, I want to
49:50
go back to that. It seems to me that that could
49:54
indicate that a lot of people do not feel as
49:59
though their vote matters. And there's kind of
50:03
like this idea or some ideas floating around
50:06
that, no, it doesn't count because you have that
50:11
whole electoral college business thing going
50:13
on, you know, and you have the whole philosophy
50:17
of. The government's going to do what they are
50:20
going to do anyway. They don't listen to us unless
50:23
we like are going to go storm the castle and
50:26
get the guillotine out. Right. Which I think
50:28
there are parties of people that are really close
50:32
to doing that, maybe literally and figuratively.
50:36
Right. So I'm wondering. What first of all, what
50:42
is your personal opinion about that? And second
50:45
of all, after that, what what can you say to
50:50
people to make them feel more comfortable and
50:53
confident that they they should go out and vote
50:57
and that it would make a difference? Well, again,
50:59
my specialty is at the local level, county and
51:03
city council. And you have a tremendous and that
51:05
is actually where that let's let's start this
51:08
over because I have a better way to say this.
51:20
So the majority of my knowledge is going to be
51:25
at the local level. And that statistic of only
51:28
40 % of people voting was local level politics.
51:32
And local level is where you have the most power.
51:36
You have the power to walk into your local city
51:40
council and to your local county commissioners
51:43
and have your voice heard and push for change.
51:48
There is, during an open meeting, a public comment
51:51
period for people to talk about things that are
51:55
not on the agenda. If you have something that
51:58
you're really concerned about, you can hold them
52:00
accountable right there and then. You can walk
52:02
in and give your public comment. And you have
52:05
your allotted time to do that. You can write
52:06
letters, emails. I mean, these people live in
52:10
your community. They're not like... president
52:12
who is not going to see you every day. You can
52:15
go there every time they have a meeting and demand
52:18
that they be accountable. And that's why I think
52:21
that in local politics, it's absolutely not even
52:25
feasibly true that your vote wouldn't count.
52:29
Your vote and your voice holds tremendous weight.
52:44
There have been incidents that have been documented
52:47
in social media posts, in news articles, where
52:52
some people have tried to stand up and put in
52:56
their public comment and they were arrested.
53:00
They were dragged out. They were silenced. These
53:04
things have happened. And so it sounds like.
53:10
what is going on, where on one hand, people have
53:14
those rights. On the other hand, there are other
53:17
people trying to shut them up. And so that, that
53:21
discrepancy, you know, I think that that makes
53:26
people concerned and feel fearful to come and
53:30
try to speak up because maybe that will happen
53:34
to them too. And so it's like, maybe when you
53:37
have like one person, but like, when you have
53:40
like a large number of people showing up, maybe
53:43
they have that strength in numbers thing. But
53:46
there was a certain incident that happened. I
53:49
think it was at Tumwater School or something.
53:51
I don't remember some school in Tumwater. I don't
53:54
remember it was elementary or high school, but
53:56
it was dealing with LGBTQ rights and things like
53:59
that a while back. And I believe that they were.
54:06
they were pushed out by law enforcement. And
54:09
so there was a struggle that had ensued. And
54:12
so I feel like what you're saying is very valid
54:16
and is very true, that people do have this legal
54:20
right, but it doesn't maybe feel easy, that easy
54:25
for some people. And so I'm wondering, what are
54:27
your thoughts on that? Vote. Don't let 40 % of
54:32
people decide for you. Vote. Because if you're
54:37
not happy with what is happening in your community,
54:39
vote. That is my recommendation. Vote because
54:44
that is where your voice has consequences, is
54:47
in the ballot box. Where can we find accountability
54:51
and transparency that people feel safe that their
54:56
votes are going to be counted and their voices
54:58
are going to be heard? We have... I think a really
55:05
good system in place where votes are handled
55:09
and counted. I really appreciate this deep dive
55:13
of information you shared with us, Samantha.
55:15
But is there anything else you would like to
55:18
share? I think that that is everything. And thank
55:21
you for having this interview with me. Awesome.
55:24
Thank you so much for being here. I found out
55:35
way more facts about voting that I knew was possible
55:37
after talking with Samantha. If you would like
55:40
to learn more, become a member or donate, visit
55:43
lwvthurston .org. To register to vote, you can
55:50
call 360 -786 -5408. that's it for today's resource
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report produced by pathways to agency at pathways
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to agency we are driven by the belief that everyone
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should have the tools and support to achieve
56:15
their goals and thrive in their communities our
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mission is to bridge the gaps in understanding
56:21
accessibility and trust by connecting individuals
56:24
to resources and sharing information and processes
56:28
that can lead to personal and community growth
56:33
Resource Report offers information about existing
56:36
and emerging nonprofits and resource organizations.
56:40
Find out more at pathways2agency .org. You can
56:45
also find our shows archived indefinitely on
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report. Chaos Radio is not responsible or liable
57:01
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conducted by Resource Report. Till next time,
57:08
and thanks for listening.