Today is primary election day, and if you haven’t yet cast your ballot, well… um… cast your goddam ballot! If you can’t get to a post office to assure a proper postal mark, King County ballots can be dropped off at one of three accessible voting centers (you can also use the machine to vote in person there; that’s what I do out of a misplaced sense of nostalgia), and in the ballot drop box at the King County Administration building in Seattle. All other ballot drop boxes have been eliminated.
And I know what you’re thinking: outside of a handful of legislative primary challenges and perhaps WA-03, nothing will be decided in the primary, so why bother? Well, I’ll tell you why: The Washington State Supreme Court.
There are only two candidates in the race for Justice Jim Johnson’s seat — the Eyman-loving, BIAW-shilling Johnson, and his progressive challenger Stan Rumbaugh — and that means whoever gets to fifty+one tonight wins.
Vote for Rumbaugh.
Can any voter use the accessible voting machines?
I thought all races went to the general election now?
I voted a while back.
I just moved and I have to vote for Frank Chopp.
Yecccchhhhhh….
PS…I almost wrote in Rabbit for KC Prosecutor.
Maybe he would indict squirels instead of strip club owners. It would do more good.
All done. And Stan’s my man!
Came THIS close to voting for Didier, but I’ve never really approved of that, so despite the opportunity I eschewed the action.
Wow, I had no idea that a final decision could be decided during the primary. Are you sure about this?
Thanks for the information, regardless.
“Maybe he would indict squirels instead of strip club owners.”
I’m pretty sure there’s a dog or two that might be at the top of his list.
I was under the impression that with Top Two all elections went to the general.
To Michael @2 and @8, and masaba @6:
Judicial elections are handled differently from all others. Goldy is correct about the Rumbaugh-Johnson race — whoever receives more votes on today’s ballot is the winner.
Actually, I think that the other Supreme Court race, Sanders against Wiggins (vote for him!) and Chushcoff, could also be decided in the primary if any candidate receives 50%-plus-one. The difference, of course, is that in a two-person race it is certain that someone will reach that mark.
TT @1,
Yes, anybody can use the accessible voting machines. For purely sentimental reasons, that’s how I’ve voted since we’ve gone to all vote by mail.
Goldy @ 10
Oh god.
I appreciate the desire to vote in person. It’s the most correct answer.
How about you fill out your mail ballot at the voting center? Simulating the correct answer.
Whereas both mail ballots and electronic ballots eliminate your privacy, at least with a mail ballot a recount means something.
(Unless they’ve modified your votes in the database, so called “electronic adjudication”, to correct for voter intent.)
I look forward to Reed’s resumed push for email ballots.
News flash to Reed: Email is delivered via the internet. But without all that hassle of logging into a web site to vote. (What could possibly go wrong?)
Then we can finally stop pretending that our votes are private or that the count is public.
@9
Thanks!
Sorry ’bout the double post. I’m not much of an iTypist, that was ‘sposed to be a longer post.
I mailed my ballot today.
Yesterday I went to see Patty Murray and Jim McDermott at the Greenwood Senior Center. We all were celebrating 75 years of Social Security.
In Supreme Court races, if there are two candidates on the ballot in the primary and one of those gets a majority (greater than 50%), only one top votegetter advances to the General Election ballot. It seems a crime.
RCW 29A.36.171
And once again. . . I bank by internet, I do my taxes via internet, I have my stock accounts on the internet; why can’t I vote on the internet? Hello? All you people living in 1972 please move forward.
Duke @ 15
Please list all the jurisdictions, experts, pundits, whomever, that support internet voting. How many of them support casting ballots via email?
During this exercise, please explain why the proponents are right whereas the DoD, Germany, Ireland, and everyone else that has rejected internet voting are wrong.