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Elections

Initiative season opens with an Eyman blockbuster

Initiative season opens with an Eyman blockbuster

Washington’s initiative season is open, and much of the early attention is on an attempt by initiative activist Tim Eyman to use a heavy hammer to persuade lawmakers to submit a constitutional amendment to require a two-thirds supermajority for all taxes passed in Olympia. The hammer? If his Initiative 1325 qualifies for the ballot and passes this fall, it would impose an annual $1 billion cut in the state sales tax if legislators refuse to put the constitutional amendment on…

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Final signatures delivered for pro-gun initiative

Final signatures delivered for pro-gun initiative

One day after sponsors of a gun-control initiative turned in their second and final batch of signatures to our Elections Division, supporters of a competing gun measure submitted one more box of signatures Friday afternoon. Sponsors of Initiative 591 delivered what they said were 5,000 signatures Friday after submitting about 340,000 signatures in late November. The measure, filed last May, would prohibit government agencies from confiscating guns or other firearms from citizens without due process, or from requiring background checks…

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More I-594 signatures turned in; additional I-591 sigs coming

More I-594 signatures turned in; additional I-591 sigs coming

After submitting an estimated 250,000 signatures in early October, sponsors of a gun-control measure turned in what they claimed were another 95,000 signatures Thursday afternoon to our Elections Division, one day before Friday’s submission deadline for initiatives to the 2014 Legislature. The estimated 345,000 signatures for Initiative 594 are far above the minimum number of 246,372 valid voter signatures needed to be sent to the Legislature this winter. Our Elections Division recommends that initiative sponsors submit at least 325,000 signatures…

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2013 General Election is officially in the books

2013 General Election is officially in the books

(Photos courtesy of Heather Lucas) To voters, this year’s General Election may have ended on Nov. 5. But the election didn’t officially go into the books until Gov. Jay Inslee and Secretary of State Kim Wyman certified the results in Inslee’s conference room Wednesday. It was the first time for both statewide officials to certify a General Election. This year’s off-year election saw 1,772,290 votes cast, which equaled a 45.27 percent voter turnout.

I-591 camp turns in sigs; 2014 gun-rights ballot battle looms

I-591 camp turns in sigs; 2014 gun-rights ballot battle looms

I-591 sponsor Alan Gottlieb delivers boxes of signatures to the Elections Division. It’s looking more likely that Washington will be an election battleground state for gun rights in 2014, as backers of a pro-gun initiative submitted what they say are more than 340,000 signatures to our Elections Division Thursday. Initiative 591 prohibits government agencies from confiscating guns or other firearms from citizens without due process, or from requiring background checks on firearm recipients unless a uniform national standard is required….

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Washington 2013 votes are tallied

Washington 2013 votes are tallied

Washington voters were rejecting both statewide initiatives on the 2013 ballot, the nationally-watched I-522 dealing with GMO labeling on some food products and I-517 dealing with additional rights for initiative signature-gatherers.  Seattle voters also chose their first openly gay mayor, Senate Democratic Leader Ed Murray, and voters in SeaTac adopted the country’s first $15-an-hour mandatory minimum wage. Three special state Senate races were on the ballot. In the 26th, Republican Jan Angel had a small lead over appointed Democratic Sen….

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Secretary Wyman hits airwaves, reminding folks to vote

Secretary Wyman hits airwaves, reminding folks to vote

Secretary of State Wyman is interviewed by KOMO-TV’s Kelly Koopmans. (Photos courtesy of Cheri Kennedy) It’s the last day for the 2013 General Election, and Secretary of State Wyman has been doing radio and TV interviews with several Seattle stations, reminding voters to return their ballot in time so their vote counts. Wyman began her election media swing with a visit to Fisher Plaza where she did interviews with KOMO Radio’s Gregg Herscholt and Manda Factor, followed by an interview…

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Need election results? We have an app for that

Need election results? We have an app for that

If you have a smartphone and want to keep up with the General Election results, download our free election results mobile app. Go here to download it.) We’ve had this app for the past couple of years, and it’s been a big hit at election time. The app is available for iPhone and Android. It provides current vote totals for state offices and ballot measures in this fall’s election. Results are immediately updated when a new tabulation is reported by…

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See Secretary Wyman’s General Election video

See Secretary Wyman’s General Election video

Haven’t returned your General Election ballot yet? Still deciding whether it’s even worth it to vote? Check out this short video in which Secretary of State Kim Wyman discusses what are the key races and measures on the ballot and why it’s important for you to vote if you haven’t yet. Don’t forget, the election ends Tuesday, so make sure to return your ballot by then. We suggest that you put your ballot in a drop box provided by your…

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Students ‘vote’ on I-517, I-522 & Seattle mayoral race

Students ‘vote’ on I-517, I-522 & Seattle mayoral race

These students at Franklin Pierce High School in Tacoma voted in the Mock Election Friday morning. (Photo courtesy Lindsay Pryor) If the results for this year’s Mock Election are an accurate barometer for how the adults will vote in the General Election ending Tuesday, supporters of Initiative 522 will be pleased, but not backers of Initiative 517. Almost 9,000 students took part in the 2013 Student Mock Election from Monday through Friday. The annual civics program for Washington students has…

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