Judge Orders More Than $68,000 in Public Records Penalties Against Grays Harbor County

Judge Says Conduct Was "Interference With the Election Process"

A Thurston County Superior Court judge has ordered Grays Harbor County to pay more than $68,000 in Public Records Act penalties after finding the county violated Washington's Public Records Act in its handling of records related to the 2023 Grays Harbor County Auditor election.

During a lengthy hearing on July 24, Judge Christine Schaller imposed $68,499 in penalties against the county, finding that the Grays Harbor County Auditor's Office acted in bad faith by failing to properly maintain and produce key public records requested by Ocean Shores residents Frank and Kerin Elduen.

The penalty follows an earlier ruling in which the court found the county violated the Public Records Act. Attorney fees and litigation costs will be determined at a separate hearing scheduled for Sept. 4.

Judge: "What shocks the conscience is the behaviors"

While attorneys debated whether the plaintiffs' request for more than $2.2 million in penalties was excessive, Judge Schaller made clear that what concerned her most was not the amount being sought, but the conduct of county officials.

"What really shocks the conscience is the behaviors of Auditor McLean and Mr. Turnbull. That's what shocks the conscience."

The court criticized the handling of the ballot lot draw record, which determines the order candidates appear on election ballots, calling it a document of critical public importance.

Judge Schaller questioned testimony that the document had simply been lost, noting it was later "discovered" on Auditor Joseph MacLean's desk months after it had been requested.

The judge also found Deputy Auditor Scott Turnbull's testimony regarding missing text messages and multiple replacement cell phones was not credible.

Judge Says Conduct Was "Interference With the Election Process"

Although Judge Schaller emphasized that the hearing concerned violations of the Public Records Act—not whether election laws had been violated—she made some of her strongest comments while discussing the conduct surrounding the ballot lot draw and the missing public records.

After describing how the ballot order was changed and the official lot draw document later surfaced only after repeated public records requests, Judge Schaller stated:

"And in that way, that's interference with the election process."

She immediately followed that statement by explaining why she no longer found the testimony of the county officials believable.

"And that is, all of that calls into question everything that Mr. Turnbull and Mr. MacLean have said, because they are just trying to CYA."

Earlier in her ruling, Schaller also described the ballot lot draw as central to public confidence in elections.

"That particular election was not properly conducted as it relates to the ballot... Fundamental principles of our freedoms in this country and the freedom of elections, and for us to choose who we're going to elect, and that it's a fair process. It's a huge deal."

While making those remarks, Schaller also made clear that the penalties she imposed were based solely on violations of the Public Records Act and not on any legal finding of election misconduct.

Court Finds Bad Faith

The court concluded that the Auditor's Office acted in bad faith in both public records requests at issue.

Among the aggravating factors cited by the court were:

• Failure to properly maintain public records.

• Unreasonable explanations for missing records.

• Dishonesty by the Auditor's Office.

• Failure to comply with Public Records Act requirements.

• The significant public importance of the records requested.

Judge Schaller repeatedly stated she did not find explanations offered by MacLean or Turnbull to be credible.

"They acted in bad faith."

The judge also found there was no reasonable explanation for the county's failure to produce the ballot lot draw document or preserve Turnbull's text messages.

Lot Draw Record Called Critically Important

A major issue in the case involved a single-page ballot lot draw document that established candidate order for the 2023 election.

The court found the document was withheld for 184 days before being produced.

Calling the lot draw "critically important," Judge Schaller imposed a penalty of $90 per day, totaling $16,560.

The judge rejected the plaintiffs' request to calculate penalties on a per-page basis but said the seriousness of withholding the record justified one of the highest daily penalties available under the statute.

Missing Text Messages

The second violation involved text messages between MacLean and Turnbull.

Although MacLean later produced what he said were copies of his text conversations, Turnbull no longer possessed the phones containing his messages.

Judge Schaller ruled there was no way to verify whether the messages produced were complete because Turnbull's records no longer existed and the court did not find either official credible.

The court determined that 29 text message threads had been denied for 597 days.

Judge Schaller imposed a penalty of $3 per day for each thread, resulting in $51,939 in penalties.

While acknowledging the text message issue differed from the missing lot draw record, the judge said a meaningful penalty was still necessary to deter future misconduct.

County Argued Penalties Were Excessive

Grays Harbor County attorney Nick Meyers urged the court to reject the plaintiffs' request for more than $2.2 million in penalties, arguing the requested amount "shocks the conscience" and would unfairly damage county finances.

Meyers maintained the county ultimately produced the requested records, argued there was no evidence of a conspiracy or intentional misconduct, and said many of the plaintiffs' allegations were speculative.

He also cited the county's budget challenges and argued Public Records Act penalties should promote transparency—not cripple local government.

Plaintiffs Sought Maximum Penalties

Attorney Doug Cloud, representing the Elduens, argued the county intentionally failed to preserve and disclose public records and asked the court to impose the maximum available penalties.

Cloud argued the missing records involved matters central to election integrity and contended the Auditor's Office repeatedly failed to meet its obligations under the Public Records Act.

Attorney Fees Still Pending

The court will address attorney fees, litigation costs and other professional expenses during a hearing scheduled for Sept. 4.

Those awards are separate from the $68,499 in Public Records Act penalties already ordered.

The final written order reflecting the court's oral ruling will also be presented at that time.