Snohomish County Elections Receives National Award for Innovative Ballot Accounting Platform

Snohomish County Elections

A Division of the Auditor’s Office – Garth Fell, Auditor

Contact: 

Sierra Cornelius, Communications and Public Engagement Officer

425-388-5395 | sierra.cornelius@snoco.gov

EVERETT, Wash., September 21, 2026 — Snohomish County Elections received the 2026 Professional Practices Eagle Award from the National Association of Election Officials (the Election Center) for exemplary use of technology and outstanding innovations in election administration through its development of Snohomish Batch Tracking (SnoBat) in partnership with the county’s IT department. The award was presented to Snohomish County Elections on August 20 at the 41^st Annual National Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. SnoBat is a modern, cost-effective, and data-driven platform that strengthens ballot chain-of-custody, improves operational accuracy, and enhances how ballots are tracked and accounted for during every step of the ballot processing lifecycle.

Snohomish County processes ballots for more than half a million voters in federal, state, and local elections. In recent years, as the number of ballots that are voted and returned in an election increased and operational requirements became more complex, Snohomish County Elections needed a unified, efficient process to manage voted ballots. In collaboration with the County’s Department of Information Technology (IT), Snohomish County staff designed and implemented SnoBat to meet that need.

Built using existing county infrastructure and adaptable Microsoft tools, SnoBat integrates data from several election administration systems into a single secure platform. The centralized system replaces paper logs and disconnected databases, allowing elections staff to track batches of ballots with greater efficiency, transparency, and accuracy from the time they are received until the election is completed and results are certified. By leveraging tools and technology the county already maintains, Snohomish County Elections was able to modernize elections operations without expensive vendor contracts.

“This national award recognizes our team’s commitment to accuracy, transparency, and accountability in elections,” said Snohomish County Auditor Garth Fell. “SnoBat helps our team do their work more efficiently and provides real-time visibility into each step of ballot processing. We’re honored that our approach has been acknowledged on a national level.”

The County’s IT leadership highlighted the design approach to the platform. “Our partnership with the Elections Division is a great example of how technology can solve real-world operational challenges without the added price tag. By using low-code Microsoft tools, we built a scalable system that can grow with the county,” said Snohomish County Department of Information Technology Director and CIO, Viggo Forde.

The Eagle Award is presented annually at Election Center’s National Conference as part of its Professional Practices Program, which highlights excellence in election professionalism. A national committee of professional election administrators selects the award recipients. Election Center, also known as the National Association for Election Officials, is the largest national professional association for election officials in the United States.

“Election Center congratulates the 2026 award recipients at our 41st Annual National Conference,” said Kathleen Hale, Executive Director of Election Center. “These achievements are a testament to their commitment to serving their respective voters and to free and fair elections.”

Election Center is a non-profit association of voter registrars, election administrators, and service providers throughout the United States and the U.S. territories. Its membership, which includes township, city, county, and state election officials and other election-related organizations, is dedicated to promoting and supporting continuous improvement in the administration of elections and voter registration through research, professional education, conferences, networking, and consulting.

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