Pierce County’s ballot dropbox program for elections has received acclaim on a national level for its effectiveness in providing a secure way for voters to cast their ballots.
Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson and two county elections workers were in San Francisco, Calif. in August to accept the Guardian Award from the National Association of Election Officials. The award recognizes a practice that exemplifies the organization’s principles and standards of conduct.
“I’m thrilled to be honored with this prestigious recognition, and I want to personally thank every employee of our elections division,” said Anderson, who oversees the division. “Our security and thoughtful procedures really set us apart. Pierce County’s ballot dropbox program is an exceptional national model.”
The program provides 29 secure, accessible ballot dropboxes at locations throughout Pierce County. In the most recent elections, more than half of the ballots returned by voters were received via dropboxes.
The county has an all-mail election system, meaning that besides dropboxes, voters can also return ballots via postal mail.
Accompanying Anderson in San Francisco to receive the award were elections supervisor Shannon Cortez and elections specialist Dave Heinemann.

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