County election office gets funds, breathing space

The Skagit County elections office will get additional funds from the commissioners, more fully supporting the operations for the time and training needed to prepare what is predicted to be a high voter turnout for the 2020 presidential election.

At their meeting next week commissioners will approve funding for an additional staff person, a scanner and expanding office space, said Ron Wesen, district 1 commissioner.

While the elections office request was not included in the 2019 budget passed in December, Wesen said the commissioners “said we would go back and look at and that is what we did.”

The Commissioners wanted to first have new County Auditor Sandy Perkins assess operations after she started in January.

Perkins evaluation supported Cunningham’s budget request. Wesen acknowledged “There are more and more people in the community and we want to make sure it (the elections process) works.”

Elections Supervisor David Cunningham was concerned that his office would again be overwhelmed by a high voter turnout.

Cunningham expressed enthusiasm for the commissioners decision, appreciating that it “allows for training and orientation in the year-plus till the Washington presidential primary 2020 and the November general election.” Last Friday Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill moving Washington’s presidential primary from May to March, a year from now.

Cunningham noted “The spending is in context we find ourselves in, with a presidential election in 2020. It takes time, a year or two, to train a person.”

Wesen hopes people will to register to vote all year round and “not have a big rush during the election cycle.” Likewise, getting informed on issues and candidates is a process, and he advises: “vote early.”

He noted that the commissioners “definitely had people come and contact us” supporting expanded funding in December.