Election workers prepare ballots for scanning at the Thurston County Auditor’s Office. (Laurel Demkovich/Washington State Standard)
Happy Election Day!
Voters in Washington are casting their ballots for dozens of state, local and federal candidates, four ballot initiatives that could drastically change state climate and tax policies, and of course, a new president.
Results in our state won’t start to post until 8 p.m. Pacific time. When they go live, the Standard will have coverage of key races and reactions from state Republican and Democratic gatherings. We’ll also have real-time election results on our website for most state and congressional contests.
Ballots will be accepted until 8 p.m. on Election Day. You can find ballot drop box and voting center locations on the secretary of state’s website. You can visit the Standard’s voter guide for more information on important races throughout the state.
Follow along here for updates throughout the day, and happy voting!
28 mins ago
Heated words
In the final lap of the election, the state GOP ignited a political firestorm with texts attacking the three Democratic candidates in the 14th Legislative District in central Washington.
This is the district which a federal judge redrew to resolve a voting rights lawsuit and it went from safely Republican to favorable for Democrats.
In sum, the party, led by chairman and state lawmaker Jim Walsh, sent text messages to about 7,500 Spanish-speaking voters on Friday alleging that the Latina Democratic candidates “support the chemical castration of your children in school without your knowledge or consent.”
The Spanish-language message also claimed that Maria Beltran, who is running for Senate, and Ana Ruiz Kennedy and Chelsea Dimas, who are vying for the House, “reject God’s design of two genders and want to confuse your children about whether they are boys or girls.”
“They hate you, they hate your family, they hate God and they hate the truth,” reads another line.
Democratic Party leaders and the candidates blasted the texts. Walsh didn’t back down on the messages. But some Republican Party leaders and Republican Sen. Curtis King, who is running against Beltran, disavowed the texts.
You can read a full story on the furor here.
On Monday, the state Democratic Party filed a complaint to the Public Disclosure Commission alleging the GOP party violated provisions in state campaign finance law banning the use of statements that are knowingly false and libelous and might expose a person to hatred, contempt, or ridicule.
Walsh said in a statement Democratic leaders and their allies “are panicking” that their candidates are losing. “Why? Because those candidates do not represent the values of the people and the families that live in that district,” he said.
Last updated: 12:50 pm
58 mins ago
Getting out the vote
As voters weighed their choices the last few weeks, Washington’s political parties were focused on getting as many people as possible to vote.
The state Democratic party held get out the vote rallies across Washington from Oct. 31 through Election Day. At each stop, elected officials rallied with party volunteers who then went out and knocked on doors or made phone calls.
At an event in Olympia on Sunday, around 50 volunteers heard from state elected officials and candidates, and two of Washington’s congresswomen up for reelection this year.
Volunteers took signs and stickers, learned how to canvas, took pictures and rallied with chants like “When we fight, we win!”
As turnout lags behind four years ago, party leaders and elected officials reminded volunteers of the importance of the final push to Tuesday.
“There are ballots sitting on kitchen tables right now,” state Democratic Party chair Shasti Conrad said. “It matters. All these conversations matter.”
U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell thanked organizers for the work they were doing in Thurston County, which contains some voters in the close 3rd Congressional District. The race between Democratic U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Republican Joe Kent is one of a handful around the country expected to decide control of the House of Representatives.
“We’ve got to go down there and get those precincts out,” Cantwell said. “We’ve got to get people to turn out to vote.”
Meanwhile, across the political aisle, a few hardy souls in the Washington State Republican Party gathered in the wind and rain a week earlier on the steps of the state Capitol for the same purpose.
“We need to make people see and believe that their vote matters,” party chair Jim Walsh implored the couple dozen folks in attendance. Those on hand included Republican candidates for state attorney general, state treasurer, secretary of state and the 8th Congressional District.
Walsh and Glenn Morgan, a conservative activist and founder of We the Governed, touted the practice of ballot harvesting, which is essentially helping other voters by collecting and turning in their ballots.
“Our state allows ballot harvesting,” Morgan said. “You will make a bigger difference than you realize.”
Mathew Patrick Thomas, chair of the King County Republican Party, called on those attending to get 10 friends and family members to vote, and then get 10 more.
“Do not sit on the sidelines. Get excited and let’s go win this thing,” he said.
Last updated: 12:18 pm