ISLAND COUNTY: Second election observer charged with felony over mask refusal
Jessie Stensland reports from Island County Superior Court for the Whidbey News-Times. Read the whole story.
Another former Republican Party official is facing a felony charge in connection with her refusal to abide by a mask mandate in the Island County Elections Office last fall.
Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks charged 61-year-old Tracy Abuhl, a Camano Island resident, in Island County Superior Court Feb. 25 with unauthorized access to a voting center, disorderly conduct and criminal trespass in the first degree. The charge of unauthorized access to a voting center is a felony.
Abuhl was the former vice chairperson of the Island County Republican Party and an election observer. The charges against her are the same recently filed against Tim Hazelo, the former chairperson of the party.
The prosecutor initially charged both Abuhl and Hazelo in district court with a single count each of disorderly conduct. When negotiations failed, he filed the new charges in superior court.
If convicted of the charges, Abuhl and Hazelo could face up to a year in jail under the standard sentencing range.
They Said It
Abuhl and Hazelo contend that they are innocent because the auditor’s office didn’t have the right to impose a mask mandate.
Ed. Note: See also our previous posts:
- ISLAND COUNTY: Election room mask mandate faces challenges (Feb. 25, 2025)
- ISLAND COUNTY: New charges filed in Elections Office mask case (Jan. 3, 2025)
- ISLAND COUNTY: Motion to unmask Elections Office fails (Nov. 8, 2024)
- ISLAND COUNTY: Police escort unmasked observer from elections office (Oct. 29, 2024)
