In this guest column, Clallam County Auditor candidate Virginia Shogren recounts a legal battle stemming from allegations of noncitizen voter registrations and her subsequent disciplinary hearing. She argues that election integrity questions deserve greater scrutiny and outlines her vision for restoring public trust through voter ID, hand-counted ballots, and increased transparency.
A Gordian knot is a metaphor for an extremely complicated problem that seems impossible to solve. The phrase comes from an ancient legend in which a king named Gordius tied an intricate knot that no one could untangle. A prophecy said whoever untied it would rule Asia. When Alexander the Great encountered the knot, he didn’t try to untie it—instead, he cut through it with his sword.
As we approach the America 250 Celebration, you would think that we might know by now what a “free and equal” election is, as decreed by our state constitution.
Yet in March of 2025, I had a front-row view of our government’s utter uncertainty as to what that phrase even means. The occasion was my disciplinary hearing before the Washington State Bar Association.
In 2021, a Pierce County nonprofit filed a writ of mandamus seeking to compel the executive branch (including the Governor) to comply with the Constitution as it relates to qualified voters. The case exposed an alleged Department of Licensing pattern and practice to register noncitizens to vote, as publicly revealed by a retired DOL employee.
Instead of examining the evidence and taking action to enforce the state constitution, our Supreme Court did the opposite: it pre-emptively dismissed the action and sanctioned both my client and me for bringing a so-called ‘frivolous’ action.
The Attorney General’s office (led by then-Attorney General Bob Ferguson) took to the media to declare that I had attacked our democracy and had abused the legal system:
Within days of the national media campaign, AG Ferguson’s office filed a grievance against me with the Washington State Bar Association in order to have me investigated and disciplined.
At my hearing, I questioned Ferguson’s Deputy Solicitor General Karl Smith and the ‘grievant’, Solicitor General Noah Purcell, while under oath in a downtown Seattle courtroom.
The Deputy Solicitor General testified that he was uncertain as to whether noncitizens should be allowed to vote in our elections.
He could not say whether noncitizens are qualified voters. He punted, saying that the issue is “all academic right now in terms of how the constitution is interpreted.”
The Solicitor General testified that the most important reason behind his grievance was the “subject matter” of my representation.
He testified that exposure of the alleged noncitizen voter registrations meant that I had questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 General Election (and that, therefore, I should properly be disciplined).
Our own government attorneys don’t seem to understand that the Constitution prohibits noncitizens from voting in our elections. Instead — along with our Supreme Court — they seem more intent on the intimidation of the legal profession in order to suppress election integrity matters.
The good news is that the people do not need government attorneys to tell them what their own constitution says. The people hold the political power of this state.
Based on potential federal legislation in the form of the SAVE Act or similar enactments (see Part I of this series), and state law (which in no way prohibits in-person voting), here is what a free and equal election in Clallam County could soon look like:
Multiple voting locations (polling places) across Clallam County will be announced, as shown in the voter’s pamphlet and online.
Each polling place will be manned with volunteers, 50/50 left-leaning/right-leaning.
Election Day will be a single day of in-person voting (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.) with Voter ID.
Votes on cast ballots will be hand-counted at the polling places.
Absentee voting will be limited to the SAVE Act (Military, Illness, Disability, or Travel).
The procedure for in-person voting could look like this:
Check in with a photo ID and sign the polling list.
Enter a defined voting area.
Pick any ballot from a stack available for your precinct. This provides for randomness and privacy, as each ballot will be assigned a unique number.
Go to a desk with a privacy shield and mark your votes and write-ins with a pen.
Remove the perforated tab from the top of the ballot (as is currently done). Keep the tab as it will contain your unique ballot number. Only you will know that number; you can check the records posted after the election to confirm that your ballot was tabulated.
Deposit the ballot in a clear plexiglass ballot box.
Exit the voting area.
The County will maintain volunteers and a camera aimed only at the ballots and ballot box at all times, with the feed streamed live and recorded.
At 8:00 p.m., polls close. The camera will be moved to tables where volunteers will remove the cast ballots from the clear box and place them into batches of 50 for counting. Tabulation will be done in teams of left/right readers, with vote tallies recorded on paper and all proceedings livestreamed and recorded. The general public will be invited to attend in person to listen and watch.
The final results at each location will be phoned in to the County Election Center (with confirming images texted). The county-wide totals will be posted online once available from all polling places. Unused and cast ballots will be sealed separately in containers and transported (with right/left witnesses) to the Election Center for retention in the event of recounts or lawsuits.
And there you have it!
Free and equal elections are not theoretical or “academic”. On the contrary, they are a simple reality that is fast approaching: a single day of paper, pens, and Americans working together to achieve the will of the people.
Virginia Shogren
Candidate for Clallam County Auditor
961 W. Oak Court, Sequim, WA 98382
www.VirginiaShogrenAuditor.com
Credit for in-person voting methodology: 2016 Washington Democratic Presidential Caucus; California in-person elections; Voting Procedure Analysis of Terpsehore P. Maras
Virginia Shogren is running for Clallam County Auditor to restore trust in our elections and ensure our tax dollars are spent wisely.
Virginia believes in simple, honest government that works for the people—not special interests. She seeks accountability, lower costs, and real oversight of our elections and our money.
