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Inslee signs bill boosting electors’ compensation

Inslee signs bill boosting electors’ compensation

Secretary Wyman stands with legislative intern Nate Hauger (middle) and Rep. Steve Bergquist outside the Governor’s Office prior to Gov. Inslee signing the  presidential electors’ compensation bill into law.   Gov. Jay Inslee has signed legislation raising the expense allowance for members of the state’s Electoral College, the party activists who cast the state’s electoral votes for the U.S. presidential ticket that wins the state popular vote. The rate had been unchanged since statehood. House Bill 1639 adjusts the travel,…

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Intern gets ‘up close & personal’ with how a bill becomes law

Intern gets ‘up close & personal’ with how a bill becomes law

Olympia interns are sometimes saddled with the mundane and routine, but Nate Hauger, legislative intern for Secretary of State Kim Wyman, got a rare front-row seat in seeing how a bill becomes law. Hauger, a junior political science major at Central Washington University, jumped at the opportunity to help research and draft a bill for Wyman and then help shepherd it through the long and winding legislative process. House Bill 1639 became the vehicle for the legislation. It would adjust…

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WA Electoral College: All 12 votes for Obama

WA Electoral College: All 12 votes for Obama

Reflecting the winner-take-all nature of the Electoral College system, Washington’s electors on Monday awarded all 12 of the state’s electoral votes to the Democratic ticket of Barack Obama and Joe Biden. The event, convened by Secretary of State Sam Reed and Gov. Chris Gregoire, went off the clockwork.  The carefully scripted, time-honored process was much like the one taking place in all state capitals. As flags outside the Capitol stood at half-staff, electors gathered in the State Reception Room and…

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WA voters: Yes to gay marriage, Obama & Democrats …

WA voters: Yes to gay marriage, Obama & Democrats …

But the governor’s race, the marquee state contest in the General Election, remains very close.  Democrat Jay Inslee, who gave up a safe congressional seat to run for the office being vacated by two-term Gov. Chris Gregoire, led Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna 51.32 percent to 48.68 percent, or about 50,000 votes out of nearly 1.9 million counted.  Inslee told cheering supporters it looked like victory, but didn’t declare himself the winner in so many words.  McKenna, still seeing a…

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Secretary Reed: YOUR vote is your voice

Secretary Reed: YOUR vote is your voice

Secretary of State Sam Reed is urging voters to take part in “one of the most significant and interesting elections in modern times.”  He said enthusiasm is “sky-high” in Washington, which regularly enjoys one of the best voter participation rates in the country. Reed noted that more than 8 out of 10 voters are expected to cast ballots, with some counties forecasting turnout even higher than the 81 percent he has predicted statewide.  He said he would be delighted, of…

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Secretary Reed’s `robust’ turnout prediction? 81 percent

Secretary Reed’s `robust’ turnout prediction? 81 percent

Secretary of State Sam Reed, Washington’s chief elections official, is predicting a robust voter turnout of 81 percent in the General Election that is currently underway. Reed figures that Washington voters will be attracted by highly competitive races for president and governor, hot races for Legislature and Congress, and some of the most compelling ballot measures in the country. Washington has nearly 3.9 million registered voters – an all-time high – and more are expected to be added, since new…

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WA 2012 election is underway!

WA 2012 election is underway!

Washington’s long-awaited General Election is underway. Over 3.85 million registered voters are being mailed their ballots by their county elections office, starting Wednesday, and the official Voters’ Pamphlet already has arrived in most Washington homes. Voters are free to mark and return the ballots just as soon as they wish, Secretary of State Sam Reed noted today.  Postmark deadline is Nov. 6, although Reed strongly recommended that voters get their ballots in the mail several days ahead of that so…

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Romney-Ryan ticket cleared for WA ballot

Romney-Ryan ticket cleared for WA ballot

The Romney-Ryan ticket has been given a green light to appear on the Washington state ballot in the fall. Thurston County Superior Court Judge Thomas McPhee, in a ruling handed down from the bench after brief oral arguments Thursday, rejected a challenge brought by the Libertarian Party of Washington. The Libertarians had argued that the Republicans of Washington lapsed into minority status by not getting 5 percent of the 2010 statewide vote with a “nominated” candidate for U.S. Senate. The…

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Libertarians seek to block GOP ticket from WA presidential vote

Libertarians seek to block GOP ticket from WA presidential vote

The Libertarian Party of Washington is asking Thurston County Superior Court to rule that  Republicans do not have major party status in the state, and that the Romney-Ryan ticket does not qualify for an automatic place on the state ballot this fall. The Libertarians assert that the only way for the GOP ticket to have earned a place on the Washington ballot is to have held a nominating convention within the state and collected at least 1,000 signatures of Washington…

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Six minor-party tickets qualify for White House ballot in WA

Six minor-party tickets qualify for White House ballot in WA

Washingtonians will have no lack of variety this fall when it comes to their presidential choices. By state law, the Democrats’ Obama-Biden ticket and the Republicans’ Romney ticket will be given automatic ballot slots here after their conventions, and six additional minor-party tickets have been certified. The state Elections Division recently checked petition signatures submitted for six additional tickets and all qualified for the fall ballot.  Mail ballots will go out by Oct. 19 — earlier for military and overseas…

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