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Shawn Reynolds, Jr., 26 and his daughter, Kailee Reynolds, 5 (PETER HALEY/THE NEWS TRIBUNE)
Discover unique collections in Washington libraries

Discover unique collections in Washington libraries

From our standpoint here at the Washington State Library, one of the best things about this summer’s Washington Library Passport Project is that every week, we learn interesting and unique things about the libraries in Washington. Everyone knows about the spectacular architecture of Seattle’s flagship branch, but often our small libraries fly under the radar. By encouraging people to visit Washington libraries and post about something they’ve learned during their visit, all sorts of interesting stories have emerged. This morning,…

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Time to vote clock
April special election is underway

April special election is underway

For about 20 percent of Washington voters, today marks the beginning of the chance to cast ballots in a special election. Ballot boxes opened this morning for the April special election, the second of four election cycles for Washington voters in 2018. There’s plenty of time to participate: Election day is April 24, and the deadline for in-person voter registration with county election officials is April 16. So what’s on the ballot? For voters in 15 of Washington’s 39 counties…

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pen writing a tick in the box
Understanding the February Special Election

Understanding the February Special Election

Did you know there’s an election coming up on Tuesday, February 13th? Springtime special elections sometimes get overlooked, especially when it feels like the recent November election is so fresh in mind. But in the February 2018 special election, 65 percent of Washington’s registered voters are eligible to participate — that’s 2,753,553 people. Voters from all but two counties have issues and/or races on the February ballot. San Juan and Skamania are the exceptions, but not all other counties have…

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CRCC Community Read 2012

CRCC Community Read 2012

The “community read movement” started in 1998 in Seattle and has gained popularity across the United States. I’ve been intrigued by them for many years. And while I hear about them all the time, I’ve never heard of one taking place inside a prison. So, last summer, I decided to organize one for Coyote Ridge. And it wasn’t easy, but I did it. The book I decided to use was Jamie Ford’s Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet….

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Pierce Council still hearts polling places

Pierce Council still hearts polling places

Although 99 percent of this year’s voters cast ballots by mail, Pierce County apparently will remain the state’s last holdout for  poll-site voting. The County Council has ordered newly elected County Auditor Julie Anderson to continue operating polling places, the News Tribune reports, but has de-funded it, meaning she’ll have to figure out how to cover the $150,000 cost out of her agency budget.  About a tenth of this year’s Pierce County voters, or less than 18,000, went to a polling…

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Pierce voters nix ‘ranked-choice voting’

Pierce voters nix ‘ranked-choice voting’

It was widely advertised as the latest cool thing in voting – “ranked-choice voting” or “instant-runoff voting.” Just three years ago, Pierce County voters, responding to a proposal from the charter review commission, approved this new system for all county elected officials except judges and prosecutors.  This system, used rather than the Top 2 Primary, essentially combines the primary and general. Voters pick their favorites for each office, ranking their choices 1-2-3.   Candidates who win strictly on first-place ballots are declared…

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Faster, faster: King, Pierce voting systems green-lighted

Faster, faster: King, Pierce voting systems green-lighted

New vote-tabulation equipment in Washington’s two largest counties soon will get emergency certification from the Secretary of State.  The State Voting Systems Review Board, meeting in Seattle on Thursday, unanimously recommended a provisional green light while awaiting federal certification, which is in the final stages. For Pierce County, it’s for renewal of last year’s emergency certification of Sequoia equipment for “ranked choice voting” for county offices. For King, it’s certification of Premier election equipment that is much, much faster than the old…

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