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Category: Governor’s Office

Lawmakers OK Reed military voting bill, earlier primary

Lawmakers OK Reed military voting bill, earlier primary

Washington lawmakers have voted to move the state’s primary election two weeks earlier and to make it easier for our military and overseas voters to cast ballots electronically.  Secretary of State Sam Reed, who championed the legislation, hailed the Senate’s unanimous vote Thursday that sent the measure to Governor Gregoire for her signature. The measure, Senate Bill 5171, allows service members and Washington voters abroad to return their voted ballots by fax or email, as many states do. Currently, ballots…

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`Governing Washington’ conference draws crowd

`Governing Washington’ conference draws crowd

Pollster Stuart Elway (second from left) answers a question as other panelists listen Secretary of State Sam Reed and the Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service teamed up for a fascinating conference Friday at the state Capitol on “Governing Washington: Politics in the Evergreen State.” Presenters included the authors of the upcoming book of the same title to be published later this year by Washington State University Press.  Presenters included scholars, pollster Stuart Elway, journalist Austin Jenkins and…

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Gov signs emergency budget cuts

Gov signs emergency budget cuts

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire has signed the Legislature’s $360 million plan for emergency budget cuts to help the state weather the next four months.  She vetoed the plan for a 3 percent pay cut for non-union state employees and a $1 million reduction in executive branch communications staff. The compromise budget proposal sped through both houses on Friday and the bill was rushed to the waited governor for action.  She hailed the “collaborative and bipartisan” approach to dealing with the…

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Gregoire, leaders gird for budget-cutting

Gregoire, leaders gird for budget-cutting

Bleak times: Gov. Chris Gregoire and a bipartisan panel of legislative leaders say the 105-day session that convenes next Monday will inevitably feature massive state budget spending cuts as Olympia deals with an unprecedented $4.6 billion budget gap. The Democratic governor, who recently unveiled a no-new-taxes budget, said the voters sent a clear and unmistakable signal with their tightfisted votes in November that they want an all-cuts budget.  That tracked with what Republican leaders of the House and Senate told…

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Reed proposes suspending 2012 Presidential Primary

Reed proposes suspending 2012 Presidential Primary

Secretary of State Sam Reed, a longtime advocate for Washington’s Presidential Primary, is joining Gov. Chris Gregoire in asking the Legislature to suspend the primary in 2012.  The move would save $10 million. The regular Top 2 Primary would still be held in August for governor, U.S. Senate, and other statewide and local races.  But the state would rely on the old precinct caucus-convention system, which Iowa and a handful of other states still use, for allocating national nominating convention…

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Gregoire proposes deep budget cuts

Gregoire proposes deep budget cuts

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire, responding to a massive budget gap of $4.6 billion and public sentiment against tax hikes, is proposing a $32 billion two-year state budget that slashes virtually every segment of state spending. The governor recommended eliminating some of her favorite programs, including health coverage for the working poor, tax support of state parks, Disability Lifeline grants, Children’s Health Program, class-size reduction in K-4, and more.  She proposed shuttering the history museums in Tacoma and Spokane and freezing…

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Gregoire calls emergency budget session

Gregoire calls emergency budget session

Gov. Chris Gregoire has called Washington lawmakers into an emergency special session at 9 a.m. Saturday to deal with the state’s billion-dollar budget gap. This is apparently the first “lame duck” session the Legislature has ever had. Leaders said they have agreement on cutting $784 million, including about $200 million of across-the-board cuts previously ordered by the governor and about $200 million in federal aid-to-education. The session is permitted to last 30 days, but leaders said they’re planning on a…

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Countdown to the November 8th Day of Jubilation – Part 11

Countdown to the November 8th Day of Jubilation – Part 11

Image courtesy of Washington State Archives In 1889, Congress passed the Enabling Act, which “enabled” Washington to draft a state constitution and request admission to the Union.  During the Washington State Constitutional Convention, women petitioned the delegates to include women’s suffrage in the new state constitution.  The issue was presented to the voters as a separate amendment on the ballot.  In the ensuing vote, 16,527 voters voted to include the amendment granting women the right to vote, but 34,613 voted…

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Come party like it’s 1910!

Come party like it’s 1910!

Mark your calendars for November 7 and 8 for two events commemorating the 100th anniversary of the vote to amend the Washington Constitution for women’s right to vote in the state as part of a Day of Jubilation.  The American Association of University Women is sponsoring a Women’s Suffrage Pink Tea at the State Capital Museum in Olympia  on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Visit this website for more details! The Office of the Secretary of State, the WSHS/Women’s…

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Countdown to the November 8th Day of Jubilation – Part 10

Countdown to the November 8th Day of Jubilation – Part 10

1887 and 1888 proved to be dark years for the women’s suffrage movement in Washington.  In the 1887 case of Harland v. Territory, the Territorial Supreme Court overturned the Women’s Suffrage Act of 1886 because it allowed women to serve on juries.  Justice George Turner (photo on left courtesy of Washington State Archives), who firmly believed that women were incapable of voting intelligently on public matters (tsk-tsk!), ruled that the title of the 1886 election law was defective and the…

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