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"A comprehensive, collaborative elections resource."
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[WA] August primary a vast improvement
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| Parent(s) |
Candidate
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| Contributor | Ralphie |
| Last Edited | Ralphie Mar 04, 2006 07:00pm |
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| Category | Op-Ed by Candidate |
| Media | Newspaper - Seattle Post-Intelligencer |
| News Date | Saturday, March 4, 2006 12:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | When the Legislature passed a bill Wednesday moving our state primary from September to August, one of the last solutions to the 2004 election problems fell into place.
By far, our soon-to-be August primary is most important.
History will long remember the challenges of the 2004 governor's election. Perhaps the greatest lesson is a keen awareness of the chaos that would ensue should a similar, razor-thin race occur in the September primary. After all, the legal challenges to that election did not resolve until June, seven months after voters cast their ballots.
The timing of the September primary poses more problems than recounts and an election contest. It sends election workers on a mad scramble to hire poll workers, test voting equipment, and format and print ballots. After certification of the September primary results, election workers have a matter of days to mail out general election ballots to Washington military and overseas voters. In the worst-case scenario, these citizens do not receive their ballots in time to vote and return them.
Starting with the 2007 primary, administrators preparing and mailing ballots will have more time to conduct the election, and the right to vote for military and overseas citizens will be better protected.
Sam Reed is the Washington secretary of state. |
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