If you haven't mailed your ballot yet because you're worried about security, know that Washington state is better than most.
Maybe you're concerned because of the Russian hacking during the 2016 election, but since then, the state and counties have taken steps to better protect you.
First things first – remember Washington is vote by mail. Your biggest concern should be how to safely get your ballot to your county elections office. Most people drop it in their mail box, but this weekend through election day, secure drop boxes will become very popular.
If you were planning to mail your pre-paid ballot, you may want to take it to a drop box instead. The Secretary of State’s Office urged voters to drop them in the mail by Friday, November 2 to ensure they are postmarked by Election Day.
Once your ballot arrives at the elections office, security is paramount. Pierce County addressed the topic in a seven-minute, 40-second video, walking voters through every facet of the checks and balances system that's in place to protect your ballot once it's in their hands. That includes regular voter registration purges of deceased voters, extensive surveillance of the election facility, handling ballots in teams of two workers, tabulating ballots on a closed server, and ballot audits.
In 2016, hackers unsuccessfully targeted online voter registration data in Washington, but not the vote count, because they can't.
"What I can tell you is that our tabulation systems are very secure, because they are not connected to the internet," Secretary of State Kim Wyman said.
King County Director of Elections Julie Wise addressed the County Council on Wednesday, explaining that their specially-built facility is as secure as it gets. Access is granted by either a badge or biometric code, limiting the amount of people in sensitive areas.
And while she couldn't discuss the details of a 2017 physical audit by the Department of Homeland Security, she did say they received "glowing remarks."
"They had to compare us to nuclear sites. That was the only thing they had, because they have no other election offices to compare us to," said Wise.
Aside from limited access, there are 50 security cameras that run 24/7. And for those of you who want an inside look, there are six web cameras live you can access from home.
