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Author: Secretary of State's Office

election ahead road sign
Video voters’ guide now available

Video voters’ guide now available

In partnership with TVW, the Office of Secretary of State is proud to present a new Video Voters Guide to help voters make informed decisions in the 2018 Primary and General Elections. At the Video Voters Guide, which the Yakima Herald-Republic calls “must-see TV for (the) 2018 election,” viewers can watch unedited candidate statements for the four statewide races on this year’s ballots — three Washington state Supreme Court justice positions and a seat in the United States Senate. Twenty…

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Paul Longwell
An era in State Library technology ends

An era in State Library technology ends

This week marks the end of an era at the State Library as we lose Paul Longwell to the happy world of retirement. Paul has been on the IT staff of the State Library since 1989. Paul discussed the other day all the changes he has seen in his years on staff. The day he started, the Washington State Library had two servers with a total storage space of 10 MB, and two total IT staffers. The times have changed…

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Secretary of State Vic Meyers inspects the safe
55 years and still unsolved: Washington’s Great Petition Robbery

55 years and still unsolved: Washington’s Great Petition Robbery

In the lower level of the Legislative Building 55 years ago this week, a theft was discovered that made front-page newspaper headlines, resulted in no arrests, and shocked political leaders. The Great Petition Robbery, a heist of thousands of signature sheets bearing petition signatures for an anti-gambling ballot initiative, didn’t stop the initiative but did hasten the end of the long political career of Secretary of State Vic Meyers, a bandleader and former five-term lieutenant governor. The story unfolded over…

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Happy 75th birthday, Ralph Munro: New exhibit features longtime statesman

Happy 75th birthday, Ralph Munro: New exhibit features longtime statesman

Five-term Washington Secretary of State Ralph Munro turns 75 on Monday, June 25, a milestone in a life of accomplishments that transcend his well-deserved political renown. A longtime advocate for humanitarian and environmental causes, Munro played a pioneering role in the disability rights movement. Inspired by a developmentally disabled boy, Munro became an advocate for the discounted and invisible people shunned by society. In 1968, Gov. Dan Evans appointed Munro, who was 25, to oversee a committee to promote volunteerism….

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Khalsa Day celebration in Kent - image courtesy of Sangam Studios in Kent, WA.
Celebrating Khalsa Day in Kent

Celebrating Khalsa Day in Kent

On May 26, thousands of Sikhs gathered in Kent for Khalsa Day to celebrate the foundation in 1699 of the Khalsa, the community of Sikhs. This annual festival and parade has drawn Sikhs from all over Washington to Kent for more than 25 years. This year, Secretary of State Kim Wyman joined the celebration and told the audience of her admiration for the Sikh tradition of Seva. Seva, or selfless service, is part of the Sikh dedication to work toward…

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Washington Letters About Literature Champion recognized by Library of Congress

Washington Letters About Literature Champion recognized by Library of Congress

We are very pleased to announce that Washington’s Level 2 champion in the state Letters About Literature competition, Riya Sharma, was selected as a National Honor Award winner for her letter about The Confidence Code. Riya is an 8th grade student at The Overlake School in Redmond. Our judges weren’t surprised at all by her national recognition. Here’s what they said about Riya’s letter: “Ms. Sharma’s letter stood out among many well written entries and did an excellent job of connecting…

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Gov. Inslee and Sec. Wyman
Student Voter registration challenge 2018

Student Voter registration challenge 2018

To encourage as many young adults as possible to make their voices heard in the 2018 General Election, Secretary of State Kim Wyman and Gov. Jay Inslee have launched a special Student Voter Registration Challenge to sign up Washington’s college students as new voters. As Gov. Inslee’s office describes here, the Student Voter Registration Challenge is a competition open to students at all 40 of Washington’s public universities, community colleges, and technical colleges. Student teams must register by Aug. 1 to…

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Spokane and the Great War

Spokane and the Great War

A century ago, more than 10,000 Spokane residents served in the military as soldiers, sailors, and marines in World War I. More than 180 of them didn’t come back. Now, through the diligent work of State Archives graduate assistant Joshua Van Veldhuizen with the long-neglected public records in the Spokane War Committee cards, the experiences of Spokaneites before, during, and in the wake of the First World War have been chronicled at Spokane Goes To War.  To convert the old…

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1960 petition signature gatherers
Paid petition signature gathering in Washington: What’s legal and why

Paid petition signature gathering in Washington: What’s legal and why

A recent news report in the Everett Herald noted that June is a prime petition-gathering month for four statewide initiatives now in circulation. According to the story, workers collecting signatures to put a referendum on Seattle’s new job tax on the November ballot are being paid $6 per signature, and anyone who gets 75 or more signatures a day gets an entry in a drawing for a four-country trip to Europe. “Too good to be true? Or legal? Maybe,” the…

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Introducing Primarily Washington, a new education resource

Introducing Primarily Washington, a new education resource

How do you make history exciting and real to today’s always-connected students? You meet them online. For the last few years, the Washington State Library, Washington State Archives, and Legacy Washington have been meeting with Washington teachers. We asked for their help in finding a better way to serve our education community, promote education and lifelong learning, and connect Washingtonians to their history. After extensive cooperation with teachers and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, we are proud to…

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