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Grays Harbor 1970s poll workers
How the 1970 election set Washington’s midterm turnout record

How the 1970 election set Washington’s midterm turnout record

The county-certified election returns for the 2018 General Election came very near setting a new state record for voter participation in a non-Presidential election cycle. Of the 4,362,454 people on Washington’s voter rolls, 71.83 percent cast ballots, which was just under the 71.85 percent turnout for the 1970 midterm General Election. Had just 1,101 more Washingtonians voted, that 48-year-old record would have been eclipsed. That the 1970 turnout stands as the state’s high-water mark is noteworthy in several regards. First, the record…

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Polly Dyer
Remembering Polly Dyer: New exhibit profiles a Cascades champion

Remembering Polly Dyer: New exhibit profiles a Cascades champion

The ‘American Alps’ were in peril. One of the world’s largest mining companies had designs on excavating within the jagged wilderness known as the North Cascades. A band of conservationists, including the cheerfully tenacious Polly Dyer, had other ideas. Dyer’s living room became a sort of academy for envelope-stuffing, stamp-licking activists who advanced a budding movement of middle-class professionals with the leisure time to defend the natural world. With crucial help from U.S. Senator Henry M. Jackson, they won protection…

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Elections program specialist Heather Sorgen drawing names for ballot order
Filing week 2018: Look who’s on the ballot now

Filing week 2018: Look who’s on the ballot now

Now that filing week for candidates to get onto Washington ballots for the 2018 August Primary and November General Election has passed, along with the May 21st deadline for candidates to withdraw their names, here are a few quick facts about this year’s election lineup With 596 races to be decided on levels from local to federal, 1,151 candidates filed to run — including 30 candidates for U.S. Senate, which is one of the largest fields in Washington history. It…

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Top 2 Primary producing finalists for WA General Election

Top 2 Primary producing finalists for WA General Election

Washington voters began clearing the decks for the fall General Election by choosing their favorite candidates to advance, using a qualifying election called the Top 2 Primary. There were surprises — such as several state Senate and House incumbents who were attempting to fend off strong challenges — and the twist of producing several marquee November matchups that will feature finalists from the same party. For the first time, it appears that two candidates from the same party will vie…

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Countdown for WA Primary 2016!

Countdown for WA Primary 2016!

Washington’s state Primary voting period is winding down, with Top 2 slots on the line for all nine statewide offices, U.S. Senate, Legislature, courts and assorted local races. Although voters have been super-engaged in the national presidential contest, response to the state Primary has been tepid in the  days leading up to the Tuesday deadline.  As of the weekend, the 39 counties reported receiving 583,489 ballots, or 14.3 percent of the 4,092,951 issued. None were processed over the weekend. Here…

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Don’t forget to vote in Primary!

Don’t forget to vote in Primary!

(Pierce County elections workers process Primary Election ballots that were returned.) After weeks of media stories, editorials and campaign ads and mailings, it’s finally here: P-Day, better known as Primary Election Day here in Washington. Thanks to our state’s vote-by-mail system, Washington voters have had a fortnight to ponder, fill out and return their ballot before Tuesday’s 8 p.m. deadline. Well, ponder no more. Your ballots are due. If you haven’t returned your ballot yet, do it before it’s too…

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Top 2 system produces some all-in-the-family races

Top 2 system produces some all-in-the-family races

Washington’s voter-approved Top 2 Primary says the two voter favorites for each office move forward to the November General Election, without regard to party preference of the candidates. As in the two previous years we used the new system, this week’s winnowing of the field produced mostly traditional R-D matchups for November.  Neither the U.S. Senate nor the nine U.S. House races will have two people with the same party preference, and most of the 123 legislative contests likewise. But…

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There’s a lot to draw from here

There’s a lot to draw from here

It isn’t a high-profile part of election season, but it sure matters when you look at your ballot. It is the lot draw. Secretary Reed recently certified the list of 2010 Primary candidates who filed with the Office of Secretary of State. In doing so, he gave the final blessing on the candidate lot draw that determines where candidates’ names will appear on the ballot. This shows the order of candidates’ names for the U.S. Senate race, plus congressional, legislative…

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Frisky Oregonians top 41 percent turnout

Frisky Oregonians top 41 percent turnout

The national media paid far more attention to Super Tuesday primaries in Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Arkansas, but our neighbors in Oregon were busy voting too – and far exceeded the turnout posted in those other states. Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown said Wednesday that over 41 percent of Oregon registered voters returned their mail-in ballot by the Tuesday deadline, eclipsing her earlier prediction of 37 percent.  Oregon had a hotly contested governor’s primary in both parties, and Brown also attributed…

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