Barracks Rumor Mill cover: full-frame photo of Washington National Guard OCS candidates in OCPs saluting in formation at JBLM, with the headline "Guard Does Plainclothes Neighborhood Watch on Ballot Boxes" over a dark band and a small WATCH stamp.

Guard Does Plainclothes Neighborhood Watch on Ballot Boxes

November 5, 2026

Washington activated about 100 National Guard troops for an Election Neighborhood Watch on ballot drop boxes in seven counties. Unarmed. Plainclothes. No uniforms. Mission still runs through 12:01 a.m. Nov. 10.

The mission

Gov. Bob Ferguson signed the activation order Oct. 21. Neighborhood Watch kicked off around Monday, Oct. 26 and ends 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10.
Counties that took the free help: King, Snohomish, Pierce, Thurston, Clark, Lewis and Island.
About 100 Guard total, per Karina Shagren at the state Military Department. Same ballpark as of Friday before Election Day. King County had about 20 of them.
Troops stay unarmed and in plainclothes. No conspicuous presence. No chatting up voters. If someone tampers with a box, they call 911 or local authorities.
Pierce County is running them on a roving survey overnight. King County called them extra eyes and ears at drop boxes and vote centers.

Why leadership flipped it on

About 70 percent of returned ballots were coming through drop boxes.
Context leadership cited: 2024 Clark County ballot-box arson (then-Gov. Jay Inslee activated Guard), plus a white powder letter mailed to the secretary of state’s office.
County auditors said they had no credible threats that would have made them ask for Guard help. They still took the free bodies.
Sec. of State Steve Hobbs, who is also a Guard member, said this “has not been done before”.

For the bay

Overnight plainclothes neighborhood watch on a metal box.
If the drop box starts acting up, the battle drill is dial 911.

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Cover photo: U.S. Army officer candidates salute in formation while graduating from Officer Candidate School (OCS) Phase III at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., Aug. 7, 2025. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Abigail Clark, via DVIDS (ID 9244761). Related Washington National Guard OCP formation photo; does not depict the plainclothes Election Neighborhood Watch ballot-drop-box mission. https://www.dvidshub.net/image/9244761/ocs-phase-iii-washington-national-guard-2025. The appearance of U.S. Department of War (DoW) visual information does not imply or constitute DoW endorsement.