Kitsap County’s auditor’s office has gone above and beyond to ensure local election procedures are secure and transparent, state election officials say.

In recognition of that, the elections division earned a security award from the state.

“Outstanding Security is a new award that recognizes outstanding election security and integrity,” said Stuart Holmes, acting director of elections for the state. “This award goes to an entire county elections department because election security is a team effort that requires all of us to work together to ensure the highest in election integrity for all voters.”

Kitsap Auditor Paul Andrews said: “Kitsap County is probably the most progressive in transparency when it comes to elections. The office is very accommodating to observers and is very transparent for anybody who is interested in following the election.”

The auditor’s office began live streaming its election processing three years ago and has been a model for others statewide, officials said.

Regina McRay, county elections manager, said: “During an election, we stream a live feed of our secure ballot room right on our website. Observation is always welcome in person. We added live streaming so that people can watch the process from home, if desired.”

The office also streams open public meetings related to elections, Andrews noted.

A major factor that led to the award was how openly the auditor’s office handled a mistake in the 2021 election for a Bremerton City Council spot, Andrews said. The error led to rerunning the race.

“We got the award because of how transparent we were with the process – how we notified the parties, the candidates, the newspaper. Everything we did in that election was very transparent and open. The state looked at how we handled that stressful situation,” Andrews said.