County auditor offers free party kits to encourage people to get together and vote
Thurston County voters can get “ballot party kits” at their local library starting next week as part of an effort to encourage more people to vote.
Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall partnered with Timberland Regional Library to offer the kits, according to a Wednesday news release. The goal is to get frequent voters to invite their friends and neighbors to informative social events, said TRL Director Cheryl Heywood.
“Local voters, who are frequent voters and the most well-informed, often have the best information about local issues and candidates,” Heywood said. “We want to use that knowledge to increase voter turnout in our community.”
The announcement comes less than month before the Nov. 7 general election when voters decide who will fill positions on the Thurston County commission, Port of Olympia commission, city councils, school boards and more. Though important, Hall said local elections don’t attract the attention of many voters.
“Voter participation often declines in local elections because voters feel less informed than in higher-profile elections,” Hall said.
Voter turnout reached 38.2% for the 2021 general election, which was the last odd-numbered year electon featuring local issues, according to official results from Hall’s office. Comparatively, the 2022 election, when federal races were on the ballot, had a 64.8% voter turnout.
The new ballot party kits will be available starting Oct. 18 at the Olympia, West Olympia, Lacey, Hawks Prairie, Tumwater and Tenino branches of the Timberland library system. The kits reportedly include “low pressure activities” to engage neighbors, according to the release.
“One of the most fun and useful things voters can do is hold a ballot party,” Hall said. “These events are a great way to share information and walk through filling out the ballot.”
This offering is part of an “Urge Your Neighbor to Vote” challenge that the Auditor’s Office and TRL are launching this year.
“This challenge is about helping people vote who might not otherwise, not trying to get them to vote any particular way,” Heywood said.
Hall also is calling on election-holding jurisdictions to challenge their voters to help their neighbors vote. Jurisdictions may do this by-passing resolutions to officially join the challenge.
The jurisdiction with the highest voter turnout will be announced after election day, Nov. 7, according to the release.
“We believe that this campaign can make a real difference in increasing voter turnout and strengthening civic participation in Thurston County,” Hall said.
This story was originally published October 12, 2023 at 2:02 PM.
