A wildfire burning near Twisp. (Photo credit: Erika Schultz/The Seattle Times)

Washington has won national recognition for emergency preparedness for state and county elections operations, Secretary of State Kim Wyman and state Elections Director Lori Augino announced Friday.

The National Association of State Election Directors selection committee named Washington the winner of the 2015 state division of the Election Center’s Professional Practices Awards. The award will be presented at the 2016 NASED meeting.

Wyman, an officer of the National Association of Secretaries of State, said the nation’s secretaries of state, election directors, and the Election Center, the election profession’s premier organization for training and certification, all have recently focused attention on continuity of service in the event of a disaster. Noted Wyman:

“Today in Washington, wildfires are sweeping across a wide swath of the eastern part of the state and last year, fires during the 2014 election season caused great challenges for several of our counties.  We have volcanoes, severe storms and power outages, breakdown in data transmission, and many other potential challenges, so it makes eminent sense to get ready BEFORE something hits.

“I am so proud of our State Elections Division and the 39 counties for stepping up – and it is gratifying to see this national recognition for the hard work for the people of Washington.”

The Elections Division identified a need for emergency preparedness and launched a bold program to provide training, templates and technical expertise to election officials, Augino said. She added:

“We are committed to protecting the democratic process while also encouraging voter participation. Washington is better prepared today to conduct elections in the event of a disaster. We are thrilled to receive recognition for best practices from our peers, and we are already getting inquiries from other states.”