PORT TOWNSEND — Sam Reed traveled to the top of the clock tower in the Jefferson County Courthouse on Thursday afternoon, enjoying the view and signing an antique guest book that has sat next to the clock mechanism for years.
Reed, 71, who has served three terms as Washington’s Secretary of State, was making his “farewell tour” of all 39 of the state’s counties before his retirement in January.
“I thought that it was important that I thank all the people who have been partners in the elections process,” Reed said.
Reed visited both Clallam and Jefferson counties Thursday, bringing the total of the counties visited on this tour to 23.
He flew from Olympia to Port Angeles, Port Townsend and back to Olympia courtesy of a supporter who just charged for the gas.
“We can’t use a state plane,” Reed said.
“There aren’t the funds for one.”
Reed was traveling with Assistant Secretary of State Patrick McDonald.
Reed’s attire was more relaxed than his usual natty appearance, wearing casual white pants and a matching shirt with the words “Lame Duck” embroidered on the pocket.
He got the idea from his predecessor Ralph Munro, who wore a similar shirt during his last year in office.
Reed said the election process has changed during his three terms, with increased automation a positive factor.
He said that it hasn’t gone far enough.
He’d like to see online voting and thought that he might have been able to implement such a system during his tenure.
“We weren’t able to put an online voting system in place because the Internet is still a little too subject to hackers,” he said.
“It needs to be more secure.
“If you make an online transaction and something goes wrong then you can go back and fix it but it’s different when you vote.”
He has instituted voter registration by Facebook, which he said is more secure than doing so by mail.
“When people register online we require them to supply a valid driver’s license or identity card number that we match to the motor vehicles database,” he said.
Reed said he has managed to clean up voter registration logs and rid them of illegal registrations that are duplicates or from felons.
The next step is to compare the voter lists with those from other states.
“We ran a test between Vancouver, Washington, and Portland [Oregon] and found a huge amount of people who were registered in both states,” he said.
Reed, a Republican, said he has always worked across party lines but sees a change toward less tolerance.
“When I first came to Olympia I’d see Democrats and Republicans duke it out on the floor and thought the must really hate each other,” he said.
“But then they’d go out, have a beer and talk about the kids, you could see they respected each other and liked each other.
“It has changed dramatically. Today the party divisions are strong and Congress is worse because they hardly talk to each other.”
Reed’s solution is to change from within, get local community leaders to run for office and have them pledge to be civil and open-minded.
When Reed steps down, he said he will “really retire and not come back as a lobbyist or consultant,” although he may apply for a visiting professorship at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
He is proud of Washington’s high voter turnout and predicts that participation in the Nov. 6 general election will be in the mid-80 percent range.
“Washington, Oregon and Minnesota have the highest voter percentage,” he said.
“But I’d still like to get the millions of people who aren’t even registered to participate.”
Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
