NE HAMLIN For Shane Hamlin ‘97, an interest in government and public service provided an introduction to Eastern. His education and involvement in civil service during his undergrad years have delivered a career packed with capitol-mall experience in Olympia. His latest endeavors have made Washington a national leader in voter registration and education. During his junior year at Capital High School in Olympia, Hamlin was involved in Boys State, a summer leadership and citizenship program, which Eastern hosted that year. “I really liked my visit, and knew I wanted to attend a small state school that offered a different experience than the west side,” said Hamlin. I knew Eastern had good programs and I liked the professors and students I met.” Hamlin majored in government, joined the Sigma Nu fraternity his freshman year – heading up the chapter’s philanthropy efforts – and plunged headfirst into EWU student-body government. “Spring quarter of my freshman year I filled the student services vacancy on ASEWU. After that I stayed involved, which led to me being chosen for an internship as a liaison for students in Olympia,” said Hamlin, who actually served two terms in the position that requires students to forego studies for a quarter and to work at the capitol. “I lobbied for legislative change for higher ed, and for EWU in particular. I was representing and testifying in committees and to politicians on behalf of students.” Upon graduating, Hamlin helped direct a non-profit student lobbying organization, served as an executive assistant to Senator Jim West of Spokane and became a policy analyst on higher education for state and local governments. More recently, he has held multiple positions within the office of the Secretary of State, mostly within the elections department. During his tenure in Olympia, Hamlin has witnessed two defining events in Washington politics: the 2000 Supreme Court ruling that blanket primaries are unconstitutional and the historically close governor’s race of 2004. “I was in the middle of it all. Election policy and reform became key issues for many sessions,” said Hamlin. In 2010, he became co-director of elections after being appointed by the Secretary of State Sam Reed. Hamlin has quickly thrust Washington into
the 21st century, making the Evergreen State a leader in voter outreach, registration and education. Using technology and social media, Hamlin has taken voter registration into cyberspace. Washington became the second state to implement online voter registration in 2008 (something Hamlin had a hand in as Assistant Director of Elections), and in July, the first to offer it through a Facebook application.
“Once we learned how the technology worked, we had two goals: to increase voter registration and to help the 3.7 million currently registered voters use the “MyVote” website to be more informed,”
Hamlin said. Users can find candidate contact information, ballot drop boxes and they can print a replacement ballot, among other things, on the site.
While the thought of leveraging social media to recruit and engage voters might alarm some people, Hamlin said the process is secure and that Facebook has no part in the procedure other than providing a person’s name and date of birth. In fact, the entire registration and authentication process takes place on Washington state servers; Facebook simply acts as frame around the interface and a portal to the state’s “MyVote” site. While nearly 600 voters had registered through the Facebook page by late September, and nearly 1,000 had accessed the site for information, Hamlin is already looking forward to more fully developing voter registration. His most recent project is in conjunction with seven other states and the Pew Center that will improve the accuracy and efficiency of voter registration, as well as tracking and updating voters who relocate within and across state lines.
VISIT MYVOTE VIA FACEBOOK
E ASTERN: FAll 2012
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