Pierce County Auditor
November 3, 2026 · Pierce County, Washington · County · general
How do we calculate vote impact?
Vote impact = representation (how much weight one vote carries here, the smaller the district's population, the higher the representation) + decisiveness (how likely this race is to be close, based on past results and number of candidates).
Representation: Low · 13 out of 100
This district is large for its type, so each vote is a smaller slice of the outcome. About 930,319 people live here.
score = 100 × ln(largest population ÷ this district's) ÷ ln(largest ÷ smallest), rounded to 2 decimals = 100 × ln(2,287,171 ÷ 930,319) ÷ ln(2,287,171 ÷ 2,353) = 13.08, comparing counties in WA (grades: 66+ high, 33+ average, otherwise low)
Decisiveness: Unknown
No past results for this contest yet.
Low representation + unknown decisiveness → Below average vote impact.
Some data is missing, so this rating is based on partial information and capped at "High".
County Auditor is responsible for:
- Checking county spending and financial records
- Watching for waste, fraud, and errors in county programs
- Handling payroll, payments, or election duties in some counties
Affected Areas: Anti-Corruption, Government Efficiency, Government Spending Reduction, Election Integrity, Corporate Accountability
Candidates
Damon Townsend
Nonpartisan · declared
Damon Townsend is a 2026 candidate for Pierce County Auditor whose background combines elections administration, telecommunications operations, and critical-systems management. He served five years as a Pierce County Elections supervisor, worked as interim elections manager in Clallam and Cowlitz counties during the 2020 presidential election, and describes two decades managing telecommunications networks. His platform centers on election security, measurable customer service, technology modernization, accountability dashboards, and countywide access to recording and licensing services.
Records: Anti-Corruption 1 for, Election Integrity 3 for, Government Efficiency 3 for
Linda Farmer
Nonpartisan · Incumbent · declared
Linda Farmer is the Pierce County Auditor and a nonpartisan candidate for reelection in 2026. Elected in 2022 after service on the Lakewood City Council and Pierce County Charter Review Commission, she oversees county elections, recording, licensing, passports, opioid-abatement administration, roughly 65 full-time employees, seasonal election staff, and a biennial budget of about $28 million. Her official work emphasizes trusted vote-by-mail elections, customer-service modernization, election-system governance, and professional certification.
Records: Election Integrity 5 for, Government Efficiency 1 for
Election sources
Source: voter.votewa.gov
Source: piercecountywa.gov
Source: piercecountywa.gov