The front cover of this year’s General Election Voters’ Pamphlet. (Image courtesy of Elections Division)

As you get ready to vote in the General Election this fall, make sure to check your mail for one of the most useful educational tools you can have before you vote your ballot!

The 2016 General Election Voters’ Pamphlet is being mailed to Washington residents over the next week, starting this weekend.

If you receive a damaged Voters’ Pamphlet or you don’t receive your copy by Oct. 17, please call our Voter Hotline at (800) 448-4881 or e-mail the Elections Division at [email protected] for assistance.

The Voters’ Pamphlet is available in English, Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese.

The Voters’ Pamphlet, provided by our Elections Division, is full of useful information about state candidates and measures found on this fall’s ballot. It includes info on the six statewide initiatives on the ballot: Initiative 1433, which aims to raise the state’s minimum wage; Initiative 1464 (campaign finance laws and lobbyists); I-1491 (court-issued extreme risk protection orders temporarily preventing access to firearms); I-1501 (increasing penalties for criminal identity theft and consumer fraud targeted  seniors and vulnerable individuals); I-732 (imposing carbon emission tax on certain fossil fuels); and I-735 (urging state’s congressional delegation to propose amendment to U.S. Constitution that declares constitutional rights belong only to individuals, not corporations, and constitutionally protected free speech excludes the spending of money).

The popular voter education booklet also has information on one proposed amendment to the state Constitution, Senate Joint Resolution 8210, which addresses moving the deadline to complete redistricting every decade. There’s also info on the two nonbinding advisory votes on revenue-related bills passed by the state Legislature this year.

Here are some facts and figures about this year’s Voters’ Pamphlet:
• The Elections Division is mailing it to 3.3 million households throughout Washington. There is no opt-out list. It is delivered to every household in the state as required by the Washington Constitution. Mailing to all households is the most cost-effective way to deliver it.
• It’s printed in 32 editions, including in Chinese, Vietnamese and Spanish. The Chinese and Vietnamese versions are mailed in King County. Voters in Adams, Franklin and Yakima counties receive bilingual (English/Spanish) editions.
• Accessible audio and text formats are available for voters who are blind or have limited vision. Go here if you need the Voters’ Pamphlet as a plain text, audio or Word document file. Voters without Internet access can contact the Elections Division for subscription options.
• Additional copies of the printed Voters’ Pamphlet are available in County Auditor offices, libraries, post offices, long-term care centers and disability service centers.
• The smallest edition of the Voters’ Pamphlet is 136 pages. Most editions range between 136 and 152 pages. Franklin County, which has a bilingual edition, has the largest Voters’ Pamphlet at 288 pages.
• Our office does not fact-check or correct statements or arguments by candidates or ballot measure committees. They are printed as submitted.

Our office has produced and distributed a Voters’ Pamphlet for just over a century. The state’s first Voters’ Pamphlet was sent to Washingtonians in 1914.

Looking for other ways to study this fall’s candidates and ballot measures?
• MyVote – Visit www.myvote.wa.gov to view your candidates and ballot measures.

• Online Voters’ Guide – View all state candidates and ballot measures online here. There are versions in English, Chinese, Spanish and Vietnamese, as well as an audio version of the Voters’ Pamphlet.

• Video Voters’ Guide – Our Elections Division and TVW have again teamed up to offer the 2016 Video Voters Guide, which includes statements by candidates for  federal and statewide offices, as well as the three state Supreme Court positions on the ballot, and pro and con arguments on the statewide ballot measures.