Payroll staff with the Thurston County Auditor's office went through their own real-world exercise when the power went out on the day they were scheduled to run payroll late last September.

Everett Man Found Guilty in Connection with Tumwater Fatal Shooting

While most people were listening to the dreadful forecast and making grocery lists to ensure they had what they needed while they were snowbound, the Auditor and Thurston County elections department were working with Emergency Management to ensure the February 12 Special Election went on without a snag.

The team was able to reconcile ballots to 0, which means every ballot that came into our possession through drop boxes and the post office were accounted for in the final tally.

Because of recent changes announced by the USPS, our outgoing ballot delivery may slow down. To minimize the delay, we are planning to mail our ballots earlier. Normally, we mail our ballots two days earlier than the statutory deadline. For the November election we will mail ballots five days earlier, on October 9th.

OLYMPIA –The public is invited to join in Thurston County's 17th year celebrating National Adoption Day. We will celebrate all families who adopt and seek to raise awareness that there are many in Washington State awaiting a forever family through adoption. Judges, government officials, lawyers, private individuals, and families will come together to commemorate this special day. The highlight will be four local families who will be finalizing their adoptions.