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Tag: state Elections Director Nick Handy

Recount season over, no races overturned

Recount season over, no races overturned

Wrapping up Washington’s election recount season Tuesday, Benton County officials have declared Dan Kathren the winner of a District Court judgeship by a margin of 15 votes out of over 50,000 cast. After reviewing a handful of ballots that had been challenged by election staff during the hand recount, one vote was subtracted from Kathren’s original tally and seven votes were subtracted from Alex Ekstrom’s total.  That left Kathren the winner at 25,057, with Ekstrom close behind at 25,042. County…

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Sizzling turnout in WA — maybe topping 70%

Sizzling turnout in WA — maybe topping 70%

State Election Director Nick Handy says it appears Washington will easily surpass our turnout prediction of 66 percent, possibly 70 percent or higher. Counties across Washington reported a late surge in ballots being returned and many say they’ll  surpass their pre-election predictions. We’ve said that 66 percent would be the best midterm election participation since 1970.  That number, and the number to beat this year, is 71.85 percent. Secretary of State Sam Reed says he’s delighted with such enthusiasm by…

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Reed: WA voters are ‘wide awake’

Reed: WA voters are ‘wide awake’

Washington’s Election Day is now just a few days off, and Secretary of State Sam Reed is predicting the best midterm election turnout in four decades. Reed says voters are fired up and that counties are expecting a flood of mail-in ballots this weekend. Reed urges voters to “avoid the rush” and return ballots promptly so that there is no doubt about making the Tuesday postmark deadline. Voters can return their ballots by mail or in person to a dropbox…

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Reed predicts robust 66 percent turnout

Reed predicts robust 66 percent turnout

Secretary of State Sam Reed is predicting the best midterm vote turnout in 40 years – 66 percent. Most voters will cast ballots by mail, and ballots go out later this week, with Nov. 2 as the postmark return deadline. Reed based his robust prediction on the drawing power of hotly contested races and ballots measures, heavy television spending, and fired-up grassroots activists. He says participation should exceed the 64.6 percent of 2006, the most recent midterm election, when turnout is…

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Military voting: 51-day transit exceeds feds’ 45-day rule

Military voting: 51-day transit exceeds feds’ 45-day rule

Washington election officials today emphasized that the state’s recent federal “waiver” of the 45-day ballot deadline for military and overseas voters shouldn’t be viewed as providing less voting time for our soldiers abroad. Indeed, Washington has a generous 51-day transit period, and all properly voted military ballots that are returned in the three weeks after Election Day are counted. State Elections Director Nick Handy said Thursday: “It’s clear that some people hear the word `waiver’ and jump to the erroneous…

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Sizzling turnout for WA primary

Sizzling turnout for WA primary

Washington primary voters may have set a new modern record for participation.  As of this morning, over 950,000 ballots have been counted — or nearly 27 percent of the state’s 3.6 million registered voters.  The rule of thumb is that between 50 and 60 percent of the expected votes are tallied on election night, with the rest arriving in the mail today and in the coming days. Elections Director Nick Handy says the eventual turnout could be in the mid-to-high…

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