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Start your engines! Filing Week May 13-17!

Start your engines! Filing Week May 13-17!

Candidate Filing Week, the official kickoff of the 2013 campaign season, is coming soon. For candidates throughout Washington, including local offices and three State Senate seats, it all begins Monday morning with the launch of Filing Week. For state offices, online filing begins Monday at 9 a.m. and runs night and day until 4 p.m. Friday, May 17. (Some county elections departments provide online filing, too.) In-person filing with the Secretary of State starts Monday at 8 a.m. and ends…

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September is National Voter Registration Month

September is National Voter Registration Month

If you haven’t registered yet to vote in Washington and need a little prompting, just realize there is an entire month devoted to this one easy but important action. September is National Voter Registration Month. Secretary of State Sam Reed is joining fellow members of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) to work toward the goal of making eligible voters aware of registration deadlines and requirements for the General Election ending Nov. 6.  Reed and other NASS members are…

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Reed certifies Primary Election

Reed certifies Primary Election

This month’s Primary Election has been certified, with Secretary of State Sam Reed doing the honors late Friday afternoon. More than 1.4 million ballots were tallied in the Primary, with voter participation a lighter-than-forecast 38.5 percent. The county-by-county numbers are here, along with the breakout for various races. The turnout was the weakest for a presidential-gubernatorial election-year Primary in recent years.  The average has run about 43 percent, and Secretary Reed had forecast 46 percent this year, based on what…

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Party challenge to Top 2 Primary back to Supreme Court?

Party challenge to Top 2 Primary back to Supreme Court?

Washington Democrats and Libertarians are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear yet another challenge of the  state’s popular Top 2 Primary.  Various appeals have been underway since voters approved the system by a landslide eight years ago. The open primary, which allows all voters to select their favorite candidates for each office, without regard to party label,  has been successfully used since 2008, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 to allow it.  The high court did leave open…

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`It’s all about equal access to the voter’

`It’s all about equal access to the voter’

Washington’s voter accessibility project, a one-person, federally funded operation dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities, is a whirlwind of activity these days. Fresh website information has just been launched, including resources, voting rights, and how to request a reasonable accommodation or assistance.  Accessibility Coordinator Tom Allman is busy training and providing technical assistance to county election departments, doing outreach to organizations and affected populations, and making sure polling centers and dropboxes are accessible. Allman, who has a doctorate in rehabilitation…

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McKenna, Reed challenge felon voting decision

McKenna, Reed challenge felon voting decision

Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna, backed by Secretary of State Sam Reed, will personally argue in federal appeals court next Wednesday for reversal of a a widely criticized decision that tossed out the state’s ban on felon voting. McKenna and Reed held a joint news conference Friday before the attorney general headed to San Francisco to prepare for oral arguments before an 11-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel of the court, in a surprise…

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WSL Updates for September 9, 2010

WSL Updates for September 9, 2010

Volume 6, September 9, 2010 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) APPLY FOR A POSITION ON THE LIBRARY COUNCIL OF WASHINGTON 2) REF22 PRESENTS CHAT REFERENCE WITH TEENAGERS 3) HANDS-ON EAUDIOBOOK ORIENTATION SESSIONS 4) IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO REGISTER FOR EARLY LEARNING SYMPOSIUM 5) MY SKILLS MY FUTURE 6) ALCTS RDA E-FORUM 7) YOURS, MINE, OURS – LEADERSHIP THROUGH COLLABORATION 8) FREE ONLINE TRAINING NEXT WEEK

Countdown to the November 8th Day of Jubilation – Part 7

Countdown to the November 8th Day of Jubilation – Part 7

My post is full of all kinds of drama and excitement today!  I have some good news, and then I have some bad news, but I’m going to end my post with some really great news.    The good news: on November 11, 1881, the Washington Territorial House of Representatives passed House Bill 103, a women’s suffrage bill by a vote of 13 to 11.  The bad news is that the measure was voted down by the Territorial Council, five to…

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A Good Year for Library Elections

A Good Year for Library Elections

With the final votes tallied, and some close calls, libraries have come out on top in the recent Washington elections with a perfect 6 for 6 score. In Cowlitz County, the levy for the Castle Rock Public Library succeeded with 62.34% of the vote, which is great because it needed a supermajority (at least 60%) to pass. The final tally was 298 votes for and 180 against. A levy failure in 2008 forced the library to rely solely on donations…

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Countdown to the November 8th Day of Jubilation – Part 3

Countdown to the November 8th Day of Jubilation – Part 3

In 1871, Daniel Bigelow brought before the Territorial Legislature a bill granting women’s suffrage.  However,  the Legislature rejected the bill by enacting a law which declared that women could not vote until the U.S. Congress made it the law of the land.  (Dave Hastings alluded to this in his comment on my previous post.)  Here is what they said: “Hereafter no female shall have the right of ballot at any poll or election precinct in this Territory until the Congress of the United…

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