A judge dismissed a lawsuit against the Island County auditor and canvassing board arising from a requirement that observers in a vote-counting room wear masks.

Judge Joseph Wilson, a Snohomish County judge hearing the case in Island County, filed his decision in “Timothy Hazelo, et al v. Island County, et al” on April 11. He found that Auditor Sheilah Crider “clearly has the authority to control her work environment for the protection of her volunteers, staff and visitors.”

The case was dismissed with prejudice, which means it can’t be refiled.

Separate but related criminal charges against Hazelo and Tracy Abuhl for alleged unlawful conduct in the voting center remain unresolved. They were both also plaintiffs in the civil action, which is supported by the Silent Majority Foundation, an Eastern Washington nonprofit organization.

Crider said in an email that she was relieved the judge validated the office procedures.

“Our motivation has always been to administer elections fairly, efficiently and transparently,” she said. “To do so, we rely on selfless election team members. We owe those workers our gratitude and a safe working environment.”

Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks represented Crider, the canvassing board and the county in the case.

“The court’s decision is a well-reasoned affirmation that common sense applies when reviewing challenges to the authority of local officials,” he said in an email. “The auditor has discretion to manage her workspace, free from interference and disruption. She is allowed to make sure her employees are safe and able to fulfill their duties.”

Hazelo wrote in an email that he hasn’t yet discussed the decision with his attorney so he couldn’t comment on whether he and Abuhl might appeal.

The case arose out of incidents during the 2024 general election. As Wilson explained in his decision, 10 out of 24 of the elderly election workers became ill with COVID during the ballot recount in the 2024 primary election.

Prior to the general election, the canvassing board added an administrative rule authorizing the auditor to impose conditions “to be reasonably necessary to protect the health or safety of the public or persons present at a counting center during processing of ballots.” Crider responded to the crisis by requiring everyone in the processing rooms to wear protective masks.

As Wilson pointed out, the rule was posted on signs in the office but was not contained in the “Official Observer and Visitor Rules.”

Hazelo and Abuhl, both official Republican Party observers, entered the office on different days during the general election ballot processing period and refused to wear masks despite the signs and being asked repeatedly by staff. In the end, the staff called law enforcement and both Abuhl and Hazelo were escorted out and cited for disorderly conduct. The charges were later amended.

Hazelo, Abuhl and James Peterson filed a motion for an emergency injunction on Election Day to prevent the mask mandate from being enforced. They argued that the county auditor doesn’t have the authority to impose a health-related rule. Banks represented Crider in the hearing. Island County Superior Court Judge Christon Skinner denied the motion, finding that the plaintiffs couldn’t show any actual harm from having to wear a mask.

On Feb. 18, the three individuals filed the complaint seeking an injunction against the auditor to prohibit a mask mandate; Peterson was then dismissed from the case. The plaintiffs argued that the mask requirement was “ultra vires,” meaning it is beyond the auditor’s authority. In addition, they argued that the restriction was not properly included in the written rules for the office.

In his decision, Wilson ruled that the auditor “clearly has the authority to develop rules for observers, to develop processes, procedures and rules to carry out her core function — ballot counting.”

“If the core function of ballot counting is interrupted by debilitating disease — she has the power to try to mitigate that by whatever means are reasonable and necessary,” he wrote, “so that the ballot processing can continue in an expeditious manner.”

Wilson wrote that the auditor cannot list every possible rule in the observer sign-in sheet and that a posted, written rule about masking fulfilled Crider’s duties.

Hazelo, the former chairperson of the Island County Republican Party, is scheduled to go to trial in Island County Superior Court on May 6. He pleaded not guilty to charges of unauthorized access to a voting center — a felony — as well as disorderly conduct and criminal trespass.