We Washingtonians can take pride in having the best election system in the nation. I watched this being accomplished over the past 25 years with three Republican secretaries of state, a Legislature most often controlled by Democrats and a bipartisan Washington State Association of County Auditors.

Our shared goal was to make sure that all the eligible American citizens in this state can participate in electing their governmental leaders through safe and secure elections. For people to participate, they need to trust the integrity of the voting system.

The stakes could not be higher. An informed, energized electorate is crucial to the preservation of American democracy.

For participation, nothing beats voting at home. Participation is more convenient and deliberative, especially for those with demanding jobs, caregiving duties, or limited mobility. So too for citizens serving in the military, on missions or living in rural areas.

Voters can spread their ballots across their kitchen tables. They can consult state and local voters’ pamphlets, candidate mailers and ads, as well as internet sites. If the decision seems complicated, they can call up a knowledgeable friend or other trusted person and weigh more facts and opinions. People often tell me that when they are uncertain about for whom to vote — judicial positions in particular — they appreciate having the time to seek more information.

Despite what critics would have you believe, vote-at-home is also secure. Every ballot is tracked. Every envelope requires a voter signature, which is verified against the voter registration file before the ballot is processed. And every election — without exception — is reconciled to account for every single envelope and ballot. Counties must report how many ballots were issued, how many were returned, how many were counted or rejected, and why. This reconciliation process is fundamental to trust, and it is performed in every county in every election.

You are fortunate that our state is a national leader in respect to election security and integrity. Unlike many states that have touch-screen or lever machine voting, ours is a paper-based system with voter verifiable paper audit trails, independent testing, pre- and post-election audits, and rigorous physical security for ballot-counting equipment.

Ballot-counting equipment is required to be “stand alone” systems. In other words, they cannot and are not connected to the internet or any other internal systems. This makes hacking impossible.

There is also tight security for the counties’ ballot-counting equipment and for the Secretary of State’s equipment.

Counties are required to have their tabulation equipment in highly secured facilities. Access is closely guarded. When ballots are stored, at least two people must be involved whenever they are moved.

The Secretary of State’s servers are housed in a secure, single tenant modern facility with dual redundant alarms, security cameras and other safeguards. Access to the data center is restricted to three staff members with unique keypad pin numbers.

Daily firewall logs are reviewed at least four times a day. Regular security scans are performed to test and verify the security of firewalls, IPS (intrusion prevention systems) and servers.

If you have doubts and concerns about our election ballot process, I urge you to visit your local county auditor’s office right before or after an election and get a first-hand look at the process. You will come away reassured.

Voter registration, particularly citizenship, is also facing scrutiny. Here are some facts:

In Washington, knowingly lying on a voter registration form is a Class C felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both. This penalty is explicitly stated on voter registration forms. If a non-citizen lies on a voter registration form, he or she will be legally precluded from ever becoming an American citizen. Voter registration lists are public records subject to scrutiny by concerned organizations and individual citizens. In one election I oversaw, we had four public record requests by organizations digging for illegal registrations. They did find some. But no non-citizens. In fact, in my 35 years as an election administrator at the local and state level, I have only known of one documented case of a non-citizen registering to vote. It was a Canadian citizen who had lived and paid taxes in the Wenatchee area for years. She got caught.

You can and should trust the integrity of our state’s election system.

I urge you to get informed and vote.

Sam Reed, a former longtime Thurston County Auditor, was Washington’s Secretary of State from 2001 to 2013.