Washington secretary of state

A Federal Judge has ruled that Washington State must adopt and enact new legislative maps for the Yakima Valley region by February 2024.

Should the top elections official in Washington state officially be a nonpartisan? That's one difference between the top two finalists running for Washington Secretary of State.

Should the top elections official in Washington state officially be a nonpartisan? That’s one difference between the top two finalists running for Washington Secretary of State.

Democratic incumbent Steve Hobbs and independent challenger Julie Anderson were leading Washington’s top two primary for Secretary of State after the initial ballot count Tuesday night. Republican Bob Hagglund, who has never held public office, was in a close third place.

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.

Electoral college delegates in all 50 states cast their ballots Monday. In Olympia, Washington’s 12 Democratic electors cast their ballots for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. It was an emotional experience for some, including for person running the meeting.

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.

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.

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.

For more than half a century, Republicans have had a lock on Washington’s Secretary of State’s office. This year, Democrats hope to end that five decade run by unseating incumbent Kim Wyman who’s seeking a third term.