State lauds Thurston’s Auditor for 2020 election work during emotional meeting
Fighting back tears, Washington’s Secretary of State honored Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall for her 2020 elections work during an in-person board of county commissioners meeting on Tuesday.
Secretary of State Kim Wyman named Hall the 2020 Auditor of the Year in May during an online Washington Association of County Auditors annual meeting. However, Wyman took the opportunity Tuesday to credit Hall in front of county staff.
Wyman praised Hall for turning South Puget Sound Community College into a drive-through voting center. She said the effort improved voter access and safety amid the pandemic.
“I think that’s really a testament to the leadership she showed and the innovation that her staff was able to implement, I know, with the full support of the county commissioners,” Wyman said. “Thurston County really just shined, and it was because of Mary’s leadership.”
The county’s voting center opened in July 2020 ahead of the Aug. 4 primary election. At the time, Hall told The Olympian she moved to SPSCC because her office was too small to safely accommodate the thousands of people who typically visit during election seasons.
Hall’s office replicated the model during the general election in November. Thurston County Public Health and Social Services later used a similar drive-through model to deliver COVID-19 vaccines at the same campus.
Wyman listed the challenges of last year to frame the accomplishments of Hall and her staff. She recalled the statewide shelter in place order, foreign and domestic cybersecurity threats, the U.S. Postal Service’s reorganization and White House officials casting doubt on election security.
Despite such challenges, 83.8% of Thurston County voters cast their ballots in the November election, according to Wyman’s office. Statewide, there was 84.1% voter turnout.
Wyman thanked Hall for improving the relationship between the auditors association and the Secretary of State’s Office as they implemented a new voter registration system and new policies such as universal voter registration.
“Needless to say, the relationship between the auditors association and my office was a little frayed,” Wyman said. “Mary stepped up and was willing to show some leadership within the auditors association to really work to mend fences so we could get through 2020 together.”
From the podium in the board meeting room, Wyman fought back tears as she praised Hall and reminisced on the challenges of the past year.
“This means a lot to me and it’s really lovely to be here,” Wyman said. “So often in government we spend a lot of time focusing our energies on problems or the issues at hand and when things go wrong. So sometimes, like today, it’s great to be able to celebrate the real achievement.”
Hall thanked Wyman for her leadership and accepted a plaque from her. She then praised the work of her staff, specifically calling out her deputy chief Diana Benson and elections supervisor Tillie Naputi-Pullar.
“I have the most amazing staff on the planet,” Hall said. “I mean we know we’re the best in the state and so thank you for the recognition.”
Commissioner Carolina Mejia, who was a candidate during the November election, commended Hall for ensuring a secure election.
“I have all my trust in Mary and her own elections department because she continues to do amazing work, year after year,” Mejia said. “Thank you, Mary.”
Commissioners Tye Menser and Gary Edwards thanked Mary for all her work, but Menser drew attention to her efforts to improve voter access.
“The work you do to expand voter access is really important to me,” Menser said. “I’m proud to be in a state that’s trying to make it easier for people to vote, not more difficult. You’re on the front lines of that at the state legislature and local practices here in Thurston County.”
State Rep. Laurie Dolan attended the meeting in person while state Sen. Sam Hunt attended virtually via Zoom. Both serve on the state government committees in their respective legislative bodies, where they often work with Hall and Wyman, Dolan said.
“The reason we have such great voting laws in Washington state are these people right here,” Dolan said. “We just pass the laws. They actually tell us what the wording needs to be in those laws and they’ve done a great job. We are blessed to have them in Washington state.”
Some of the bills Hall has advocated for have allowed for same-day voter registration, as well as expanded automatic voter registration, pre-registration and universal registration, according to a May news release.
Thurston County voters first elected Hall in 2013. Like most other county auditors, she is responsible for supervising elections and voter registration, recording and maintaining county records, licensing vehicles and vessels and other financial services.
This story was originally published September 2, 2021 at 1:45 PM with the headline "State lauds Thurston’s Auditor for 2020 election work during emotional meeting."
