Older voters participated more in state's August primary
By Susan Gilmore
Seattle Times staff reporter
If the primary-election turnout is any indication, Democrat Christine Gregoire and Republican Dino Rossi will need to court older voters if they hope to win the governor's race in November.
Results from August's primary found that voter participation increased substantially with age.
Turnout among those 18 to 24 was the lowest, just 18 percent, while turnout for those over age 65 was the highest at 72 percent, according to the Secretary of State's Office.
Statewide, 18- to 24-year-olds made up between 2 and 5 percent of all who voted, depending on the county. Voters age 65 and older made up between 27 and 47 percent of all who voted, depending on the county.
In all, there was a 42 percent turnout in the primary, with nearly 1.5 million votes cast. That was a little below the average turnout of 44 percent in a presidential-year primary, but Washington's primary was different this year.
Not only was it moved up to August, but the state also used for the first time its top-two primary system, in which the top two vote-getters go on to the general-election ballot regardless of political party.
Statewide, the highest voter turnout was in Columbia County, at almost 67 percent. Counties with turnout over 60 percent were Jefferson, Lincoln and San Juan.
Fifteen other counties had turnout over 50 percent: Clallam, Ferry, Franklin, Garfield, Grant, Grays Harbor, Island, Kittitas, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Pend Oreille, Skagit, Stevens and Wahkiakum.
King County reported the lowest turnout in the state, at 35 percent, while Snohomish County had 42 percent and Pierce County 41 percent.
King and Pierce counties are the only two that do not conduct all-mail elections, and that could be one reason why turnout was so low in the two counties.
According to the Secretary of State's Office, there are 452,000 people registered in King and Pierce counties who haven't signed up for absentee ballots. Of those, just 72,356, or 16 percent, went to the polls.
Of the 2.96 million absentee voters in the two counties, 47 percent voted.
David Motz, manager of voter services for the state, can't explain why King County's turnout was so low, but he said it may be because the county still uses polling places.
Voters are more likely to vote "if the ballot is still sitting on the counter at home," Motz said.
Sherril Huff, King County elections director, also said turnout is driven by issues.
"When we have high-profile issues that have received a lot of media attention and for which voters are highly concerned, we experience better participation. Even though the governor's race was on the ballot, voters know the decision will be made with November's vote," Huff said.
Motz said he was surprised that turnout wasn't higher in the primary among young voters, particularly since there's been a surge of voter registration. The secretary of state sends letters to those turning 18, telling them how to register to vote, and Motz said about 20 percent of those residents actually register because of the birthday card.
Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Washington State sues Gubernatorial Candidate over Party Affiliation on Ballots
Democrats sue to make Rossi call himself "Republican" instead of "GOP"
By Andrew Garber
Seattle Times Olympia bureau
OLYMPIA — A hearing has been scheduled for Friday at 9 a.m. in King County Superior Court on a lawsuit filed Tuesday by the state Democratic Party which is attempting to force gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi to list his party preference on the November ballot as "Republican" instead of "GOP Party."
Democrats say the Iraq War and low approval ratings for President Bush have left the Republican Party a damaged brand and that Rossi is trying to distance himself by using GOP as his affiliation.
Rossi is running against Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire. He lost to Gregoire by 133 votes in the 2004 election, and polls show this race to be close as well.
Polls by Stuart Elway have suggested many people don't know that GOP and Republican mean the same thing. One recent Elway poll indicated Rossi did better among voters if he used the "GOP" label instead of "Republican."
"There's no question we were shocked by the Elway poll," state Democratic Party Chairman Dwight Pelz said, adding that an internal poll by the party had a similar finding.
"We believe the law is being broken, and we're asking the court to step in and fix it," he said.
The lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court, names Secretary of State Sam Reed as the defendant.
State Republican Party Chairman Luke Esser questioned Elway's poll results. He also said the lawsuit is frivolous and that the party will step in to defend Rossi in court if needed.
"The idea that people don't know Dino Rossi is a Republican is just ridiculous," Esser said, noting that Gregoire's campaign and supporters have spent millions of dollars on ads making that clear.
A statement issued by Rossi's campaign called the lawsuit "an act of a desperate incumbent." Rossi has said that he's used the term GOP for years and isn't trying to confuse voters.
GOP stands for Grand Old Party, a nickname the Republicans picked up in the 1870s. The phrase is often used by the news media when referring to Republicans, but it hasn't served as an official party designation on an election ballot, until now.
The state's new top-two primary "says a candidate may list whatever party preference the candidate wishes," Reed said. "One person did Salmon Yoga Party."
According to the Secretary of State's office, 25 candidates on the ballot in November list GOP, rather than Republican Party, next to their names. One candidate lists Grand Old Party.
Reed, a Republican, earlier this year said he'd advised some candidates, including state Attorney General Rob McKenna, to use Republican Party instead of GOP.
"I just think it's clearer to the voters and actually a little more respectful in some ways to give the full party name," Reed said at the time.
On Tuesday, Reed said he did advise candidates that if "they wanted to be taken seriously they shouldn't be making up names."
But Reed said he never specifically objected to using GOP and has used it himself on campaign signs.
Reed also said Democrats could have challenged this in court months ago.
"The time to object was before candidate filings in the first week of June," he said. "Now counties have actually sent their ballots to the printers. The timing is really bad for an issue we thought had been pretty well resolved earlier."
Pelz said he's confident the courts will rule the issue is more "important than whether two to three small counties have started to print their ballot. I know they haven't started to print in King County."
However, King County elections officials said their ballots are indeed at the printers and several thousand already have been printed.
Andrew Garber: 360-236-8268 or agarber@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
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For more information on this story, visit the Associated Press version of this story:
GOP or Republican? Democrats sue Washington state over how ballot describes opponent
By Andrew Garber
Seattle Times Olympia bureau
OLYMPIA — A hearing has been scheduled for Friday at 9 a.m. in King County Superior Court on a lawsuit filed Tuesday by the state Democratic Party which is attempting to force gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi to list his party preference on the November ballot as "Republican" instead of "GOP Party."
Democrats say the Iraq War and low approval ratings for President Bush have left the Republican Party a damaged brand and that Rossi is trying to distance himself by using GOP as his affiliation.
Rossi is running against Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire. He lost to Gregoire by 133 votes in the 2004 election, and polls show this race to be close as well.
Polls by Stuart Elway have suggested many people don't know that GOP and Republican mean the same thing. One recent Elway poll indicated Rossi did better among voters if he used the "GOP" label instead of "Republican."
"There's no question we were shocked by the Elway poll," state Democratic Party Chairman Dwight Pelz said, adding that an internal poll by the party had a similar finding.
"We believe the law is being broken, and we're asking the court to step in and fix it," he said.
The lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court, names Secretary of State Sam Reed as the defendant.
State Republican Party Chairman Luke Esser questioned Elway's poll results. He also said the lawsuit is frivolous and that the party will step in to defend Rossi in court if needed.
"The idea that people don't know Dino Rossi is a Republican is just ridiculous," Esser said, noting that Gregoire's campaign and supporters have spent millions of dollars on ads making that clear.
A statement issued by Rossi's campaign called the lawsuit "an act of a desperate incumbent." Rossi has said that he's used the term GOP for years and isn't trying to confuse voters.
GOP stands for Grand Old Party, a nickname the Republicans picked up in the 1870s. The phrase is often used by the news media when referring to Republicans, but it hasn't served as an official party designation on an election ballot, until now.
The state's new top-two primary "says a candidate may list whatever party preference the candidate wishes," Reed said. "One person did Salmon Yoga Party."
According to the Secretary of State's office, 25 candidates on the ballot in November list GOP, rather than Republican Party, next to their names. One candidate lists Grand Old Party.
Reed, a Republican, earlier this year said he'd advised some candidates, including state Attorney General Rob McKenna, to use Republican Party instead of GOP.
"I just think it's clearer to the voters and actually a little more respectful in some ways to give the full party name," Reed said at the time.
On Tuesday, Reed said he did advise candidates that if "they wanted to be taken seriously they shouldn't be making up names."
But Reed said he never specifically objected to using GOP and has used it himself on campaign signs.
Reed also said Democrats could have challenged this in court months ago.
"The time to object was before candidate filings in the first week of June," he said. "Now counties have actually sent their ballots to the printers. The timing is really bad for an issue we thought had been pretty well resolved earlier."
Pelz said he's confident the courts will rule the issue is more "important than whether two to three small counties have started to print their ballot. I know they haven't started to print in King County."
However, King County elections officials said their ballots are indeed at the printers and several thousand already have been printed.
Andrew Garber: 360-236-8268 or agarber@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
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For more information on this story, visit the Associated Press version of this story:
GOP or Republican? Democrats sue Washington state over how ballot describes opponent
Monday, September 15, 2008
50 days out, Washington looks promising for Obama
With 50 days to go until Election Day 2008, it appears likely that Washington state's 11 electoral votes will go to the Democratic Candidate for President, Sen. Barack Obama. Though Obama leads Republican Sen. John McCain by a margin of only 4.7 in the most recent polls of the state (with 48.0 percent to Mccain's 43.3 percent), several important factors suggest that this trend will continue and strengthen.
Firstly, Washington state has voted Democratic in every election since 1984, when it supported Republicans Ronald Reagan and running mate George H. Bush over Democrats Mondale and Ferraro. The state's current governor, Christine Gregoire, is a democrat, as are its two US Senators, Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray. Additionally, Democrats in Washington make up about 75% of the total number of elected officials in the seperate categories of U.S. House Representatives, State Senators, and State Representatives. Washington's Democratic Primaries revealed a strong base of Obama supporters as the Illinois Senator emerged the clear victor with 66 percent of the vote, trailed by Sen. Hillary Clinton with 31 percent, and 1 percent voting otherwise. The result of the Republican Primaries was far less clear in the state, showing McCain coming in first with 26 percent, Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee a hardly-distant second with 24 percent, and dark-horse candidate Congressman Ron Paul of Texas almost as close behind with 22%. Washington's emphasized concern on environmental issues serves as another strong indicator of the likelihood of an Obama vote.
Firstly, Washington state has voted Democratic in every election since 1984, when it supported Republicans Ronald Reagan and running mate George H. Bush over Democrats Mondale and Ferraro. The state's current governor, Christine Gregoire, is a democrat, as are its two US Senators, Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray. Additionally, Democrats in Washington make up about 75% of the total number of elected officials in the seperate categories of U.S. House Representatives, State Senators, and State Representatives. Washington's Democratic Primaries revealed a strong base of Obama supporters as the Illinois Senator emerged the clear victor with 66 percent of the vote, trailed by Sen. Hillary Clinton with 31 percent, and 1 percent voting otherwise. The result of the Republican Primaries was far less clear in the state, showing McCain coming in first with 26 percent, Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee a hardly-distant second with 24 percent, and dark-horse candidate Congressman Ron Paul of Texas almost as close behind with 22%. Washington's emphasized concern on environmental issues serves as another strong indicator of the likelihood of an Obama vote.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
A Brief Background on Washington's Political Climate
Washington joined the Union in November 1889. The state has gone through periods during which it voted primarily Democratic and other periods where Republicans usually won. Democrats have been the victors in the last five elections and the state is expected to lean to the Democratic side again in 2008. In 2004, John Kerry defeated George W. Bush by a 53% to 46% margin. The state’s electoral influence has grown in recent decades; in the western half of the country only Texas and California have more than Washington’s 11 electoral votes.
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