The longest-serving city councilmember in Lamont, Washington’s second smallest town, worries the town could face disincorporation if she retires. Continue Reading Rural communities struggling to fill positions in local governmentsRead More
In the Pierce County elections center, a small crowd gathered just outside of the ballot tabulation room on the morning of Oct. 17. With packets in front of them that show expected results and pens ready to catch any mistakes, the observers were there to make sure Pierce County’s ballot counting system is ready for the general election. Read More
Jacob Johns speaks at an event September 19, 2023 in Spokane, Washington after unveiling his “Free the Vote” mural. (Credit: Jeff Ferguson) Listen (Runtime :57) Read Jacob Johns is an… Continue Reading Spokane-based Indigenous Read More
The goal of the Idahoans for Open Primaries initiative is to bring ranked-choice voting and open primaries to Idaho. If enough signatures are gathered, the initiative will be on the… Continue Reading Ranked-choice voting in Idaho Read More
The Washington Supreme Court denied the appeal challenging the constitutionality of the Washington State Voting Rights Act on the Latino voting rights lawsuit against Franklin County. The Court’s opinion came only a month after the judges heard oral arguments from the parties involved. Read More
The Washington State Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the Latino voting rights lawsuit against Franklin County. The hearing comes one year after Latino voters settled an agreement with the county to create single-member district systems for elections. But during the case, a Franklin County citizen challenged the constitutionality of the Washington State Voting Rights Read More
Numerous Democrats in the Washington Legislature are backing a new proposal to make voting in elections compulsory. Citizens are required by law to cast ballots in about 25 counties, but in no other U.S. states. Continue Reading What if voting Read More
More eyes are on ballots in the Tri-Cities area this election, according to reports from the Benton County auditor. Continue Reading Ballot drop box observers seen monitoring voters in the Tri-CitiesRead More
Private voting booth at Benton County Auditor Listen Thousands of Benton and Franklin County adults are living with disabilities. Most are legally eligible to vote. As the general election approaches,… Continue Reading Voting access for people Read More
An investigation by the King County Sheriff’s Office into a ballot drop box surveillance effort organized by conservative activists has wrapped up without criminal charges. Continue Reading No Charges In Washington Ballot Drop Box Read More
Photo by Phil Scroggs on Unsplash Listen (Runtime 1:49) Read The primary election in Washington will be certified on August 16th and many races are still very close. Is it… Continue Reading Can A Candidate Who Loses In The Read More
A newsroom in Yakima was preparing for election night coverage and running tests of their system when it went live. Now two 4th Congressional Candidates in Eastern Washington have filed complaints. Continue Reading Allegations of Election Fraud By Read More
The Benton County Auditor is testing a new paid ballot observer program this year using members of partisan and nonpartisan organizations. Continue Reading Paid Ballot Observers In Benton CountyRead More
Mal-information post Listen (Runtime 2:35) Read State Representative Brad Klippert has been using his Congressional Campaign social media account to encourage people to monitor drop-boxes and report suspicious activities. Representative… Continue Read More
For nearly six decades, Republicans held Washington's top election post — Secretary of State. That streak ended last November when Kim Wyman resigned to take an election security post with the Biden administration, and Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Democratic state Sen. Steve Hobbs to the post. Read More
A More Perfect Union is a media project that explores the complexities of our democracy in order to help strengthen it. Through radio programs, podcasts, and oral histories, A More Perfect… Continue Reading What Does ‘A More Perfect Union’ Mean To Read More
Franklin County Auditor Matt Beaton, SOS Steve Hobbs, Benton County Auditor Brenda Chilton Listen (Runtime 1:10) Read Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs is touring the state to inform citizens… Continue Read More
As the 2022 midterm elections loom, a partisan battle over access to the ballot box continues to be fought in Congress and in state legislatures across the country. Red states are passing new restrictions, while many blue states are making voting more accessible. That includes Washington. Read More
Organizations in Yakima County are motivating Latinx voters to get to the polls on Elections Day. Informational sessions and events are part of the strategies. Continue Reading Yakima Nonprofit Organizations Encourage Latinos To VoteRead More
Ahead of the first Fourth of July since an attack on the Capitol, fueled by baseless claims of voter fraud, and as several GOP-led states work now to enact stricter voting rules, majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents express worry about the health of democracy. Read More
Democrats' massive election overhaul bill aimed at protecting and expanding voting rights and reforming campaign finance laws has stalled in the Senate. Continue Reading With No GOP Votes, Republicans Block Read More
Responding to concerns raised by the U.S. Justice Department about aspects of a controversial election review, the leader of Arizona's state Senate says plans to go door-to-door asking residents about their voting history are "indefinitely" on hold. Read More
The far-right media outlet Newsmax, which amplified former President Donald Trump's false allegations of election rigging and widespread voter fraud, said on Friday there is no evidence that Dominion Voting Systems and one of its top employees, Eric Coomer, manipulated election results in 2020. Read More
Fox News says a New York court should dismiss Smartmatic's $2.7 billon lawsuit against the cable TV network and some of its hosts, saying its coverage of bogus election-fraud claims is protected by the First Amendment. Fox also says the voting technology company hasn't backed up its allegations of "actual malice" related to its defamation claims. Read More
Gov. Jay Inslee on Wednesday signed a bill automatically restoring voting rights to people who have been released from prison after committing felonies, even if they are still on parole — a measure sponsored by a lawmaker who was herself formerly incarcerated. Read More
Legislation making it more difficult to get initiatives or referendums on ballots is heading to the governor, who has hinted of a possible veto. The House voted 51-18 on Wednesday to approve the measure backers said is needed because the current process favors urban voters. It passed the Senate 26-9 last month. Those numbers are enough to overcome a veto. Read More
Major League Baseball's 2021 All-Star Game will be played in Colorado's Coors Field, the league says, after it canceled plans for Atlanta to host baseball's midseason centerpiece. The change came in response to Georgia's controversial new voting law, which the MLB says is against its values. Read More
Washington state lawmakers have voted to automatically restore voting rights to people who have been released from prison after committing felonies,
even if they’re still on parole. With the support of majority Democrats, the state Senate passed the measure 27-22 Wednesday night, following earlier approval by the House. It now heads to Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, who is Read More
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday signed a massive overhaul of election laws, shortly after the Republican-controlled state legislature approved it. The bill enacts new limitations on mail-in voting, expands most voters' access to in-person early voting and caps a months-long battle over voting in a battleground state. Read More
Covering a bill making its way through Olympia that could impact the voting rights of 26,000 people. Continue Reading Voting After Prison In WashingtonRead More
Deepening polarization is eroding faith in the electoral and democratic process on which our democracy depends. What can we do to cultivate mutual respect, repair damaged relationships, and reweave a civic fabric frayed from years of growing division? Read More
The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments Tuesday in a major voting rights case that could give state legislatures a green light to change voting laws, making it more difficult for some to vote. Continue Reading High Noon For The Future Of Read More
Legislation to make permanent changes in Idaho’s absentee ballot counting procedure passed the Senate on Thursday and is headed to the House. The state Senate voted 35-0 to approve the bill intended to speed absentee vote counting. It was used in the last general election and spurred by the coronavirus pandemic. Read More
Dominion Voting Systems has filed suit against former President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani over baseless claims he's made that Dominion was at the center of a scheme to perpetuate widespread election fraud. Continue Reading Read More
If you've been riding an emotional, politics-fueled rollercoaster in 2021 (not to mention 2020), believe us: Your kids have noticed. Here's a quick primer from Life Kit on how to talk with your kids about politics — and, even get them thinking about civics. Continue Read More
A top employee of Dominion Voting Systems, who has gone into hiding after becoming the subject of conspiracy theories on the right since the election, is suing the Trump campaign, a number of campaign surrogates and pro-Trump media outlets, alleging defamation. Read More
The lawsuit argued a 2019 state law authorizing universal mail-in voting was unconstitutional and that all ballots cast by mail in the general election in Pennsylvania should be thrown out. Continue Reading U.S. Supreme Court Read More
The decision means about 127,000 ballots cast by drive-through voting in the Houston area will be counted. It follows a similar ruling by the Texas Supreme Court on Sunday. Continue Reading Federal Judge Dismisses Effort To Throw Out Read More
"I think it's terrible when we can't know the results of an election the night of the election in a modern-day age of computers," Trump said. But the vote totals are never fully counted the same day. Continue Reading Read More
According to figures provided by the Secretary of State’s office, 513,000 people registered to vote in Washington prior to the 2016 election. So far this year, this state has seen approximately 440,000 new registrants, a 14 percent drop compared to four years ago. However, the last two months have shown something of a rebound. Read More
Washington’s latitude about late-arriving ballots stands in stark contrast to Oregon, and more than half of states, where ballots must arrive by Election Day. In fact, by allowing ballots to still be counted nearly three weeks after the election, Washington has the most generous policy in the nation, according to a recent analysis. Read More
State and local election officials in Washington said Thursday that election systems here are secure and haven’t been hacked. Those assurances follow multiple reports in recent days of efforts by foreign actors to interfere with the upcoming national election. Read More
State elections officials said Idahoans should not worry about the security of their ballot if they vote absentee. Idaho has used the same basic absentee voting procedures since 1972. So the process is not new to elections officials, even though they are expecting a significant increase in absentee ballots due to the pandemic. Read More
Pennsylvania Republicans had sought to block the counting of late-arriving ballots, which the state's Supreme Court had approved last month. Continue Reading U.S. Supreme Court Rules Pennsylvania Can Count Ballots Received Read More
A majority of Republicans, Democrats, Independents, men and women from across the country, of all ages and races, are expecting some or many attempts to block people from voting, according to the latest PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll, conducted less than a month before Election Day. In November 2016, 57 percent of registered voters anticipated attempts to thwart voting; that Read More
Republicans have challenged state laws that they say will lead to voter fraud. The judge said the Trump campaign's concerns were mere speculation. In reality, voter fraud is extremely rare. Continue Reading Judge Blocks Trump Read More
Gov. Greg Abbott ordered order a limit to the number of places where voters can hand deliver mail-in ballots. Some county officials worry it will lead to confusion and voter suppression. Continue Reading Texas Read More
Changes in Wisconsin and North Carolina mean absentee ballots that are postmarked by Election Day will count, if received within six and nine days of the election, respectively. Continue Reading Rule Changes In Swing States Mean Read More
As the final few ballots are counted following this month’s primary, it has become clear that this election was of major interest to voters in Washington. State primaries typically sees about 35% of registered voters cast their ballots. In 2020, that number has not topped 54%, the biggest number since the 1964 presidential primary. With more than 2.5M ballots counted, “How Read More
The move by the USPS prompted a scramble by county auditors who run elections in their counties and the Washington Secretary of State’s office, which oversees elections statewide, to put out public messages to clarify the process. Read More
