• Editor’s note: In the current era when we are seeing American elections being undermined, the Office of Thurston County’s Auditor continues to receive accolades for outstanding achievements.
• This warrants recognition from this blog.

Thurston County Election Manager Recognized as State Election Employee of the Year For Second Time 

From the Thurston County Auditor:

SPOKANE – Tillie Naputi-Pullar, Thurston County Elections Manager, was awarded the 2021 “Elections Employee of the Year” by the Washington State Office of Secretary of State. Naputi-Pullar previously received the award in 2014. 

“Tillie’s commitment to Thurston County and the people she is privileged to serve every day is absolutely incredible,” said Stuart Homes, acting director of elections at the Office of the Secretary of State. “In addition to conducting elections, Tillie supports her fellow county colleagues and participates in workgroups to strengthen the security and functionality of our statewide voter registration system known as VoteWA — ultimately to enhance the integrity of our elections for all Washingtonians.” 

Naputi-Pullar is co-chair of the VoteWA Advisory Board. The board is a liaison between end users and the VoteWA Executive Steering Committee. They recommend functionality and usability enhancements of VoteWA, the statewide voter registration database. Most importantly, the Advisory Board helps guides the technical evolution of VoteWA.  

“Tillie is the model of an Elections Administrator in Washington State,” said Mary Hall, Thurston County Auditor. “Her example of professionalism, attention to detail and acting as support to many county election administrators contributes a lot to keeping our elections free, fair, safe and secure.” 

The Thurston County Auditor’s Election division also recently received two awards for their expanded election observer program. The effort to increase election transparency received a National Association of Counties (NACO) Achievement Awards and an honorable mention in Outstanding Innovations in Elections from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.   

The expanded election observer program was established after a dramatic increase in inquiries regarding ballot processing during the 2020 presidential election. The election division saw the largest and most consistent number of observers, despite capacity limitations due to the pandemic.