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SOUTH BEND — County commissioners at their meeting last week signed off on an agreement that will see deputies from the Pacific County Sheriff’s Office provide security at the auditor’s office on election nights for the foreseeable future.

The interdepartmental agreement between the two county agencies will beef up the physical security at the auditor’s office’s locations in South Bend and Long Beach on all election days through the end of 2026. At least one fully equipped and uniformed corrections deputy will provide security at each location.

County auditor Alex Gerow said the agreement is a new arrangement and is not something that had previously been established between the two departments. The contract is not in response to any specific situation, she clarified.

“This is just a precautionary security measure to protect my election staff and election equipment during election nights when we are alone after normal business hours,” Gerow said.

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‘With all of the safety concerns election workers face, we felt it was necessary to put this in place as a source of protection for my office.’

Alex Gerow, county auditor

Under the approved agreement, the auditor’s office will set the hours needed for security for each election at least one month in advance. The sheriff’s office will notify the auditor’s office at least 72 hours in advance of the election if any shifts remain unfilled, and will track all hours approved and worked by deputies in an election security capacity — with timesheets needing to be submitted to the auditor’s office within three days.

Washington’s Secretary of State’s office provides multiple funding sources to help counties provide election security, and the county submitted a request to the state agency late last week for funding that would help cover the costs of contracting with the sheriff’s office for security through at least the April 2025 special election. Funding is made available on a year-by-year basis, and the state’s fiscal year runs from July through June.

Gerow noted that other counties have used the funds from the secretary of state’s office to hire on-site security for their election workers.

“We are required to stay here after hours and remain open to the public on election nights,” she said. “With all of the safety concerns election workers face, we felt it was necessary to put this in place as a source of protection for my office.”

False claims of widespread voter fraud have continued to spread since the 2020 election, with election workers throughout the country facing death threats, harassment and unfounded accusations of nefarious activity. Last August, election workers counting ballots in King and Spokane counties for that year’s primary election received envelopes that contained trace amounts of fentanyl, as did an elections office in Georgia later that fall.

The rise in threats and harassment have led to staffing struggles throughout the country for elections offices, for both permanent and temporary workers. Gerow said her office has not had any such staffing issues yet, saying “we have a veteran staff of election workers that help us out every election.”

Gerow has noticed an uptick in the number of people attending routine tests of their elections equipment and other mandated procedures than in previous years, but believes that’s because they have been more open and transparent in notifying the public and the local political parties about elections.

“Everyone that has attended these tests, open meetings … have all been very courteous and I feel they have left with a sense of satisfaction,” she added.