Register to vote online. The online registration deadline in King County is Monday (October 28). So make sure all your friends and family get registered while it is still as easy as signing up online. After that, you can register in-person at King County’s Renton and downtown Seattle Election offices up to and including election day.
If your registration is current, you should have already received your ballot in the mail. If not, go to King County’s My Voter Information site and check that status of your registration and request a replacement.
The single most important vote on this ballot is NO on I-976. Tim Eyman’s deceptively simple initiative is sure to get a lot of votes because it basically asks people if they would like to pay less to register their cars. It does not detail the massive cuts to vital and popular infrastructure maintenance and transit service in communities across the state that this initiative would force, work that voters and elected leaders have already planned and funded. That’s the frustrating thing about these anti-tax initiatives: People are willing to fund improvements when asked about those improvements. But when solely asked whether they want to pay a tax, of course a lot of people will say no. This initiative only asks about the tax mechanism, not the vital work the tax is funding.
This is a long-winded way of saying, this one’s going to be close. We need every single vote we can get. So if you encounter someone who for whatever reason doesn’t care about the rest of the local elections on this ballot, tell them they at the very least need to vote NO on I-976.
For Seattle voters, check out our City Council endorsements:
District: 1: Lisa Herbold | 2: Tammy Morales | 3: Kshama Sawant | 4: Shaun Scott | 5: Debora Juarez | 6: Dan Strauss | 7: Andrew Lewis
Seattle Bike Blog does not have endorsements for other races around the region, but below are endorsements from other organizations working for better biking, walking and transit. U=The Urbanist, TRU=The Transit Riders Union, WB=Washington Bikes, SUB=Seattle Subway (PDF), TW=Transportation For Washington.
- King County Council District 2
- Girmay Zahilay: U, TRU, SUB, TW
- King County Council District 4
- Abigail Doerr: U, TRU, WB, SUB, TW
- Jeanne Kohl-Welles: WB, TW
- King County Council District 6
- Claudia Balducci: U, WB, SUB, TW
- King County Council District 7
- Joe McDermott: U, WB, SUB
- Snohomish County Council District 2
- Megan Dunn: WB
- Jennifer Gregerson: TW
- Snohomish County Council District 3
- Stephanie Wright: WB, TW
- Port of Seattle Position 2
- Sam Cho: U, SUB
- Port of Seattle Position 5
- Fred Felleman: U
- Seattle School Board District 1
- Liza Rankin: TRU
- WA Senate Legislative Dist. 40
- Liz Lovelett: WB, TW
- Liz Lovelett: WB, TW
- Bellevue City Council Pos. 1
- John Stokes: WB
- Bellevue City Council Pos. 3
- Jeremy Barksdale: WB
- Bellevue City Council Pos. 5
- Janice Zahn: WB, TW
- Bellingham Mayor
- April Barker: WB
- Bellingham City Council Pos. 1
- Elizabeth Hartsock: WB
- Bellingham City Council Pos. 3
- Daniel Hammill, WB
- Bellingham City Council Pos. 5
- Chanan Suarez: TRU
- Bothell City Council Pos. 2
- Mason Thompson: WB
- Everett City Council Pos. 4
- Liz Vogeli: WB
- Everett City Council Pos. 5
- Joseph Erikson: WB
- Kent City Council
- Awale Farah: TW
- Sara Franklin: TW
- Kirkland City Council Pos. 5
- Neal Black: WB
- Kirkland City Council Pos. 6
- Amy Falcone: WB
- Liberty Lake City Council Pos. 3
- Holly Woodruff: WB
- Mercer Island City Council Pos. 1
- Dave Rosenbaum: WB, TW
- Mercer Island City Council Pos. 3
- Wendy Weiker: WB, TW
- Mercer Island City Council Pos. 4
- Patrick Allcorn: WB
- Mercer Island City Council Pos. 5
- Craig Reynolds: WB, TW
- Olympia Mayor
- Nathan Jones: WB
- Port Townsend City Council Pos. 7
- David Faber: WB
- Redmond Mayor
- Angela Birney: WB, TW
- Redmond City Council Pos. 3
- Jessica Forsythe: WB
- Renton Mayor
- Marcie Maxwell: WB
- Renton City Council Pos. 3
- Valerie O’Halleran: WB
- Sammamish City Council Pos. 2
- Karen McKnight: WB
- Sammamish City Council Pos. 4
- Karen Howe: WB
- Sammamish City Council Pos. 6
- Rituja Indapure: WB
- Seatac City Council Pos. 5
- Takele Gobena: TRU, TW
- Seatac City Council Pos. 7
- Mohamed Egal: TW
- Shoreline City Council Pos. 4
- David Chen: TW
- Doris McConnell: WB
- Spokane Mayor
- Ben Stuckart: WB
- Spokane City Council President
- Breean Beggs: WB, TW
- Spokane City Council District 2
- Lori Kinnear: TW
- Spokane City Council District 3
- Karen Stratton: TW
- Spokane Valley City Council Pos. 3
- Lance Gurel: TW
- Tacoma City Council Pos. 1
- Nathe Lawver: WB, TW
- Tacoma City Council Pos. 3
- Keith Blocker: TW
- Tacoma City Council Pos. 8
- Kristina Walker: WB, TW
- Tukwila City Council Pos. 4
- Cynthia Delostrinos Johnson: TW
- Tukwila City Council Pos. 6
- Kate Kruller: WB
- Vancouver City Council Pos. 2
- Erik Paulsen: WB
- Walla Walla City Council Pos. 4
- Ted Koehler: WB
- Walla Walla City Council Pos. 5
- Sharon Kay Schiller: WB
- Woodinville City Council Pos. 7
- Paul Hagen: WB
- Yakima City Council Pos. 5
- Liz Hallock: WB
- Yakima City Council Pos. 7
- Holly Cousens: WB
Did I miss anyone? Discuss in the comments below.
Comments
2 responses to “Voting guide for the rest of your ballot”
I know it sounds obvious, but it is worth mentioning that the Seattle region has grown a lot in the past few years. There are a lot of new residents (and voters) who were not around for past elections, and a lot of people reading this message likely know some of them. The typical new resident is likely to know nothing about Move Seattle, Sound Transit 3, Tim Eyman, the fact that a large chunk of Seattle’s bus service comes from supplemental funding through a TBD, or anything else about the local politics in this city and region.
Even if they support us on all the major issues – they are as likely as not to just as likely to throw their ballot away without reading it, figuring an off-year election can’t have anything important. Or worse, they might skim the ballot, read Eyman’s deceptive language, and vote “yes”, figuring that all they’re doing is just lowering their car tab fees and cutting administrative fat at the DMV.
Do not assume that just because you have friends who support transit and safe streets, that they’re an automatic “no” vote. Instead, assume that they are not paying attention, and that the only way they will know what’s going on, and what’s at stake is if you (or somebody else) tells them.
Thank you for including the “other” recommendations. Most of Seattle is still very provincial. It’s good to see the Seattle bike blog acknowledge that governments on the Eastside affect the quality of life for lots of Seattle residents. Seattle isn’t actually an island.