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As the 2022 midterm elections approach, combating misinformation and increasing voter trust continue to be top priorities for election departments. Election officials have painstakingly increased their efforts to spread trusted information, by expanding their social media strategies, hosting open houses, producing radio and TV commercials, and much more. Mason County, Washington Auditor Paddy McGuire has taken another approach. Leading up to the 2020 General Election, he wrote a biweekly newspaper column to educate and engage voters. His efforts have helped to present his office as a source of trusted information.

Serving Voters at the Local Level

Paddy McGuire is part of a select group of individuals (including Kim Wyman and Donetta Davidson) who have worked in election administration at the local, state, and federal levels. Previously, Paddy was Deputy Director for Election Official Assistance at the Federal Voting Assistance Program, and prior to that, Oregon Deputy Secretary of State. In 2019, he transitioned to his current position as the Mason County Auditor. “I love doing this locally because I get to help individual voters, and that’s just the coolest thing,” says Paddy.

Plus, he gets to live in one of the most beautiful parts of the country. Mason County, Washington is a rural community surrounded by stunning natural landscapes. Olympic National Forest—known for its rugged mountains, massive moss-covered trees, and alpine lakes—comprises nearly half of the county. With its hiking, fishing, and golfing opportunities, it’s no wonder that many retirees settle in the area.

Reaching Voters Through the Newspaper

Leading up to the 2020 General Election, Paddy was brainstorming ways to communicate directly with his voters, no matter how scattered throughout the rural county they lived. He wanted to preemptively quell misinformation, and reach less active voters who begin to pay more attention in presidential election years. Paddy thought writing a newspaper column would help him achieve all of those goals. “The community tends to be older,” he explains, “so they are newspaper readers.”

One of the primary sources of local news is the Shelton-Mason County Journal, a weekly newspaper distributed to over 8,000 people. There was a new editor at the paper who had just moved into town, so Paddy introduced himself over coffee and pitched the column idea. To Paddy’s delight, the editor met him with enthusiasm and encouragement. Together, they decided on a biweekly cadence, and Paddy got to writing.

His first “Election Matters” column was published in January 2020, and outlined what readers could expect throughout the year. “Elections are about preparation and vigilance,” he writes. “My staff and I are preparing for the year ahead and I will use this column to tell you about that.” His future columns educated the public about vote by mail procedures, explained behind-the-scenes challenges of same-day voter registration, and debunked election falsehoods.

Addressing Misinformation

The “Election Matters” columns are short—about 200 words—and use simple language that anyone can understand, even those who know little about election administration. This is key when discussing misinformation. And it served Paddy well when he used the column to clear up a falsehood circulating about the vote by mail process.

Mason County’s ballots have a perforated tab along the top with a barcode that’s used to put together a voter’s packet. Voters are instructed to remove and discard the tab before sending in their ballots. Just before the August primary election, posts began popping up on Facebook claiming that if a voter didn’t remove it, the election office would throw out their ballot. Paddy responded to these rumors in a column, writing, “I can tell you, from my time processing ballots and tearing off hundreds of these stubs that voters left on, we count those ballots.” Sharing his personal experience in the column was an effective way to quash the falsehood. “I think it helped us to dispel some of the rumors that were floating around right before the election, and also to be more of a trusted source of information right there at the end,” says Paddy.

Increasing Transparency

The column also proved to be useful as the COVID-19 pandemic forced election procedures to shift. For instance, the elections team decided to restrict observers’ access to the ballot processing room to comply with social distancing. Paddy then wrote about the decision in Election Matters, explaining that voters could tune into live streams instead. “Being so proactive about outreach helped blunt the criticism that we didn’t allow observers,” he reflects.

At the end of each column, Paddy includes his phone number where readers can reach him at the election office. It’s a small detail, but it sends a powerful message: he and his staff are ready to engage with voters, and answer their questions. Several voters called to discuss their doubts, and they felt reassured after speaking with Paddy. “In these times where trust of election officials generally has gone down, and politicization of the process has gone up, in our little corner of the world I think we’ve reversed that trend,” he says.

Writing a Column in Your Local Paper

For Paddy, writing the column was both a meaningful and fun exercise. “I’m always happy to write not like a bureaucrat, because I do plenty of that,” Paddy adds with a chuckle. If you’d like to write for your local newspaper, it can’t hurt to reach out to the editor. “Number one, ask!” Paddy says. And don’t be intimidated by the need to come up with ideas. He says if you’re paying attention to the news, it should never be difficult to find something to write about. You can browse through some of Paddy’s columns here for inspiration.

Also, be cognizant of how you present yourself to your audience. Paddy admits that it was sometimes difficult to “resist the urge to be an election geek” when writing the column. Thankfully, the editor only sent back an article once for being “too geeky,” asking Paddy to rework it so that the general public could digest it. Finally, Paddy understands the importance of remaining even-handed and putting his personal opinions aside. “I absolutely have to wear my auditor hat when I’m writing this and not my personal hat,” he says. “People are hearing from the county auditor, not from me. It was something I tried to keep in mind all the time. And I certainly do when I’m at my job, too.”

If you have questions about Paddy’s Election Matters column, he would be happy to share more with you. You can reach out to him at [email protected] or give his office a call at (360) 427-9670 x468.