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Category: County Auditors

`Watershed year’: WA voting season under way!

`Watershed year’: WA voting season under way!

Washington’s voting period for the 2016 Election is under way, with counties mailing about 4.2 million ballots and awaiting a robust turnout of at least 80 percent. A handful of counties sent ballots on Tuesday and nearly all the rest were scheduled to go out Wednesday and Thursday. Friday is the deadline for outbound mail. Deadline for a postmark is Election Day, Nov. 8, and drop boxes may be used before 8 p.m. that day. A record 4,250,526 Washington residents…

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WA voters: 4 million strong!

WA voters: 4 million strong!

  Secretary of State Kim Wyman and Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson headlined an event to celebrate a milestone: Washington has surpassed 4 million registered voters for the first time in state history. During the ceremony at Anderson’s offices in Tacoma on Monday, Wyman and Anderson introduced the 4 millionth voter, 18-year-old Katarina Gruber of Pierce County. Gruber went to Pierce County Elections on her birthday in late March to register to vote in person. “This is a big moment…

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Looking for your ballot dropbox? VIP offers cool lookup tool

Looking for your ballot dropbox? VIP offers cool lookup tool

As Washington’s 2015 election nears, we’re promoting use of ballot drop boxes and county election centers for a free, secure way to return ballots without any worry about getting an Election Day  postmark. One handy tip: You can use the voter look-up services of the Voting Information Project, a collaboration of Google and Pew Charitable Trusts. As with the state-run MyVote tool, WA voters can look up their custom-tailored ballot and locate their closest ballot drop box or county election…

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Elections Division honored for emergency planning

Elections Division honored for emergency planning

A wildfire burning near Twisp. (Photo credit: Erika Schultz/The Seattle Times) Washington has won national recognition for emergency preparedness for state and county elections operations, Secretary of State Kim Wyman and state Elections Director Lori Augino announced Friday. The National Association of State Election Directors selection committee named Washington the winner of the 2015 state division of the Election Center’s Professional Practices Awards. The award will be presented at the 2016 NASED meeting. Wyman, an officer of the National Association…

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Wyman honors outstanding county elections workers

Wyman honors outstanding county elections workers

During this week’s 2015 state Elections Conference in SeaTac, Secretary Wyman and many in our Elections Division are joining Washington’s county auditors and their elections employees to learn or share new ideas and practices that will allow them to run elections even better both at the county and state levels. For Wyman and state Elections Division Director Lori Augino, it also was an opportunity to present the state elections awards during Wednesday’s luncheon. Award winners include: Secretary Wyman (right) with…

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Voters across WA & USA signing up for `incredibly important’ elections

Voters across WA & USA signing up for `incredibly important’ elections

Hoping to boost voter registration, Washington is taking part in a nationwide registration push by the National Association of Secretaries of State. The organization, headed by a board that includes Secretary Kim Wyman, has declared September as National Voter Registration Month and Sept. 24 as National Voter Registration Day.  In Washington state, there are two important deadlines to remember: Oct. 7 is deadline for online registration for new registrations and for updates such as address changes.   And Oct. 28 is…

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Evelyn Arnold joins Secretary Wyman’s team

Evelyn Arnold joins Secretary Wyman’s team

Evelyn Arnold shares a story as Secretary Wyman (middle) and Elections Director Lori Augino (right) listen. Evelyn Arnold, former Chelan County Auditor and King County elections official, has joined the Office of Secretary of State as financial services manager. Monday was her first day on the job and it was “old home week” at a Capitol reception in her honor.  She and Secretary of State Kim Wyman are old friends, dating back to 1991, when Arnold was a new county…

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