The Record
Farmer's Flubs
Farmer's Flubs is the running record of the mistakes, corrections, fines and court rulings that have marked Linda Farmer's tenure as Pierce County Auditor. Every entry below links to the public record behind it: the document, the ruling, the state report or the county's own statement. Nothing here rests on anyone's characterization, including ours.
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The certification still “In-Progress”
Completed a national credential out of state, while Washington's own election-administrator certification remains listed “In-Progress” on the state's report. All 13 of her election staff are certified.
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The Public Disclosure Commission penalty
Signed a Statement of Understanding with the Public Disclosure Commission acknowledging campaign-finance reporting violations, and paid a civil penalty.
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The Social Security numbers
A routine public-records response released partial Social Security numbers drawn from voter registration data.
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The notice that followed
Affected voters were notified nearly a month later, in letters signed by a Public Records Officer rather than the Auditor herself.
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The candidate a court put back on the ballot
The Auditor's Office moved to withdraw a Pierce County Council candidacy. The candidate sued, challenged the added local requirement, and a court restored him to the ballot.
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The pamphlets that arrived late
Several Pierce County communities did not receive their voters' pamphlets on time for the August 2024 Primary.
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The pamphlet insert that had to be reprinted
Voter pamphlet inserts for Tacoma, Franklin Pierce and White River school-district voters had to be corrected after the printed insert duplicated information.
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The Seahawks gear memo
A Pierce County Elections message told staff they could not wear sports apparel, including Seahawks gear, and drew a public response.
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The endorsements page
An archived snapshot of the official campaign endorsements page raised accuracy questions, including a sitting Sheriff who publicly denied endorsing.
What is Farmer's Flubs?
Farmer's Flubs is a source-linked archive of documented problems during Linda Farmer's term as Pierce County Auditor. Each entry names what happened, when, and which public record establishes it. The list covers a released set of partial Social Security numbers, a Public Disclosure Commission penalty, late and misprinted voters' pamphlets, a candidate restored to the ballot by a court, and a state election-administrator certification still listed “In-Progress.”
Why does it matter?
The Pierce County Auditor runs elections for roughly 600,000 registered voters and manages recording, licensing and passport services. The entries in Farmer's Flubs are not matters of opinion or policy disagreement. They are documented administrative outcomes, and voters are entitled to weigh them.
Is every entry sourced?
Yes. Every claim on this site links to a public record, a court filing, a state report, an archived page or a news account. Where the records are incomplete, we say so on the page rather than filling the gap with an assumption. The state certification table is an example: it discloses the seven counties whose records establish nothing either way.
This is an independent archive published by the campaign of Damon Townsend, who is running for Pierce County Auditor. It is not affiliated with Linda Farmer, her campaign, or Pierce County. Her campaign site is lindafarmer.org and the county's official page is piercecountywa.gov. Read more about how this archive works.