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Tag: Washington State Elections Division

Student with I Voted sticker
Student Mock Election results mirror statewide outcome

Student Mock Election results mirror statewide outcome

Each year, students across Washington get to participate in a mock election to show how they would vote on candidates and measures if given the chance in real life. The Mock Election is a non-partisan, educational event that teaches kids to be informed voters. Nearly 180,000 students have voted in Washington’s annual Mock Election since 2004. Students vote on the same measures and candidates adults will decide. Not surprisingly, the student results were very similar to those of Washington’s registered voters who…

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WA gets high marks for election info accessibility

WA gets high marks for election info accessibility

Ballotpedia, the nonpartisan online info source for politics and elections, has ranked Washington as the most improved state for accessibility of its Elections Division and voter and candidate information. Washington rose from 22nd in 2014 to third in the group’s 2016 ranking of the 50 states.  Washington got high marks for ease of online access, quality of information on the website, vote.wa.gov, and response time. Secretary of State Kim Wyman, the state’s chief elections official, said: “We are delighted to…

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MyVote accessibility upgrade draws applause

MyVote accessibility upgrade draws applause

The Washington State Elections Division is drawing acclaim for accessibility upgrades to the state’s popular online voter information tool called MyVote. Two of the nation’s leading election blogs called attention to the recent re-launch of the portal. Mindy Moretti over at ElectionlineWeekly called it “mobile-friendly, easy-to-use and, importantly, accessible.” She wrote that because the site was “already a pretty comprehensive personalized voter tool, the state didn’t need to expand any functionality and was instead able to focus on improving the…

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Hamlin touts ERIC Project to national commission

Hamlin touts ERIC Project to national commission

Shane Hamlin, Washington’s deputy elections director and chair of a new interstate project for voter outreach and more accurate registration rolls, was a featured speaker at the Cincinnati field hearing of the blue-ribbon Presidential Commission on Election Administration on Friday. Hamlin, joined by David Becker, director of election initiatives for the Pew Charitable Trusts, touted the work of the ERIC (Electronic Registration Information Center) project that is already up and running in seven states, with others lining up to join. …

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I-594 ballot title revised; gun-control group free to collect sigs

I-594 ballot title revised; gun-control group free to collect sigs

I-594 sponsor Cheryl Stumbo Sponsors of an initiative for background checks on gun sales now have a green light to begin collecting signatures for Initiative to the Legislature 594. Thurston County Superior Court Judge Chris Wickham has made some changes to the ballot title, the last step before backers could print petition sheets and begin gathering voter signatures for the 2014 Legislature and/or the 2014 general election ballot. The Attorney General’s Office, which drafted the original version, said the new…

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