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Category: Initiatives

Gov. Inslee & Secretary Wyman certify 2016 election

Gov. Inslee & Secretary Wyman certify 2016 election

Secretary Wyman and Gov. Inslee certify the 2016 General Election returns. (Photos courtesy of Patrick McDonald) Secretary of State Kim Wyman and Gov. Jay Inslee have certified the returns for the 2016 General Election, including a record number of ballot measures and hotly contested races from the White House to local offices. The election drew record voter registrations of nearly 4.3 million and the most ballots ever counted in the state, over 3.36 million.  The turnout was nearly 79 percent,…

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WA 2016 Election: The count goes on

WA 2016 Election: The count goes on

As Washington’s vote tally continues through the week, voters were re-electing most incumbents and siding with Hillary Clinton in her losing White House bid. Before Wednesday’s updates, more than 2 million votes had been counted, better than 48 percent of the record 4.24 million ballots that were sent out last month.  Counties reported receiving 2.7 million ballots by mail or drop box, a 63 percent return rate, as of Election Day, not counting evening drop box pickups. Heavy mail volumes…

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WA voter reg sets a one-day record; total now tops 4.2m

WA voter reg sets a one-day record; total now tops 4.2m

Voter registrations in Washington hit a new one-day record on Monday, the deadline for online and mail-in registration. In that single day, 27,601 signed up online via the Secretary of State’s MyVote.wa.gov. That broke the previous record set just a day earlier, 23,167. Before that, the all-time one-day record was set last spring, 13,109, with help from Facebook prompts. The number of registered voters now stands at 4,207,379. It’s the first time we’ve exceeded 4.2 million. We celebrated our four…

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I-1464 last of initiatives certified to ballot

I-1464 last of initiatives certified to ballot

Checkers review I-1464 signatures earlier this week at the Elections Division. Initiative 1464, which covers campaign finance reform, disclosure and enforcement, and creation of a public campaign financing program, is the final ballot measure to qualify for the General Election ballot this fall. Assistant Secretary of State Mark Neary certified I-1464 Tuesday night, hours after a signature check crew at the Elections Division finished reviewing a 3 percent random sample of the 327,103 signatures submitted by the initiative sponsors in…

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I-1501 certified to fall ballot

I-1501 certified to fall ballot

Initiative 1501, a proposal dealing with “protection of seniors and vulnerable individuals from finance crimes and victimization,” will appear on the fall statewide ballot in Washington. Secretary of State Kim Wyman certified I-1501 on Monday. The state Elections Division finished a random sample of the 341,376 signatures submitted by the initiative backers in early July. The signature review determined that the measure easily exceeded the bare minimum of 246,372 valid signatures needed to qualify for the ballot. Wyman said a…

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WA minimum wage initiative certified to ballot

WA minimum wage initiative certified to ballot

Initiative 1433, a proposal to increase the state minimum wage, will appear on the fall statewide ballot in Washington, says Secretary of State Kim Wyman. The state Elections Division on Friday completed a random sample of the 345,907 signatures submitted by the initiative backers and determined that the measure easily exceeded the bare minimum of 246,372 valid signatures needed to qualify for the ballot. Wyman said a random sample of over 10,000 signatures showed most were valid. Rejection rate due…

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WA Election crews begin checking initiatives

WA Election crews begin checking initiatives

State election crews have begun checking on voter signatures submitted for four citizen initiatives. First up:  Initiative 1433, a plan to boost the state minimum wage to $13.50 in stages and require employers to provide paid sick leave. The minimum wage currently is $9.47 and rises annually with the CPI under terms of an earlier voter-approved initiative. Secretary of State Kim Wyman said Monday the I-1433 campaign submitted 345,907 signatures, nearly 100,000 more than the bare minimum needed to secure…

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I-1501, I-1464 sponsors turn in signatures

I-1501, I-1464 sponsors turn in signatures

I-1464 supporters bring boxes of signatures into the Elections Division office. Two initiative campaigns delivered signatures to the state Elections Division in Olympia Friday afternoon, the last of four measures to bring in petition sheets before the turn-in deadline. All brought in a substantial pad and are considered likely to make the statewide fall ballot, along with a pair of initiatives to the Legislature.  Six initiatives will be an unusually large number for Washington. Initiative 1501 sponsors submitted around 322,000…

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Sponsors turn in signatures for firearms initiative

Sponsors turn in signatures for firearms initiative

I-1491 supporters deliver boxes of signatures to the Elections Division Thursday. About 304,000 signatures for Initiative 1491 were submitted to the state Elections Division office in Olympia Thursday morning, the second of five initiatives expected to be delivered there this week. Friday is the deadline to submit signatures for initiatives to the people filed this year. I-1491 would allow police, family or household members to obtain court orders temporarily preventing firearms access by persons exhibiting mental illness, violent or other…

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Minimum wage hike first initiative to submit sigs

Minimum wage hike first initiative to submit sigs

I-1433 sponsor Ariana Davis addresses the media after initiative signatures were delivered to the Elections Division Wednesday morning.  If last week was “Shark Week” on TV, this must be “Initiative Week” for our Elections Division. Signatures for Initiative 1433, the minimum wage measure, were submitted to the Elections Division office in Olympia Wednesday, the first of five initiative campaigns that scheduled turn-in appointments this week. Friday is the deadline. I-1433 sponsors said they turned in about 360,000 signatures. That’s far…

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