By Jake Goldstein-Street and Jerry Cornfield | Reporters
Welcome back to the Daily Standard's weekend edition, where we recap some of the week's top stories.
Quote of the week: “They do not intrude or interfere in any way in the voting process.”
That’s an attorney from the U.S. Department of Justice to the director of King County Elections, telling her no need to worry about federal election monitors coming to Washington’s most populous county for the Nov. 3 midterms. But across the country, not all are convinced the monitors will be inconspicuous given the federal government’s attempted interference thus far in state-run elections.
The Trump administration let King County and the state know this week that the monitors would be coming here, along with counties in at least 10 other states, including Multnomah in Oregon. The Justice Department says they’ll be in all 50 states, and that this is routine.
But a spokesperson for King County Elections says she hasn’t seen monitors there in her seven-plus years working there.
Also this week, Gov. Bob Ferguson’s office offered members of the Washington National Guard to help protect ballot drop boxes. This comes after one was set on fire in 2024, and white powder has been sent to offices of numerous elected officials across the country.
“These National Guard personnel would inconspicuously monitor ballot drop boxes or other high-traffic areas where voting occurs to ensure that Washington voters can safely exercise their right to vote and that their ballots are secure,” Ferguson wrote to county auditors. “Election Neighborhood Watch personnel would not be in uniform and would not interact with voters dropping off their ballots. They would serve as eyes and ears on the ground and would be available to immediately coordinate with local authorities in the event of any issues.”
As of Friday afternoon, five counties had taken the governor up on the offer. They are Thurston, King, Pierce, Snohomish and Clark, according to a spokesperson for the governor.
Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs speaks about the importance of returning ballots early alongside U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, right, last month in Seattle. (Photo by Jake Goldstein-Street/Washington State Standard)
Meanwhile, turnout in Washington is tracking similar to 2022 after the first few days of voting.
As of Friday afternoon, 705,231 ballots had been returned with about two-thirds arriving via drop boxes, a sign early voters are heeding repeated warnings from state and local officials to steer clear of the U.S Postal Service to ensure their ballots arrive on time.
Voters are turning in their ballots fastest in Jefferson County in western Washington, which had 32.8% of ballots already in hand. Five other counties — San Juan, Asotin, Thurston, Lincoln and Skagit — topped 20% on Friday.
Overall, 13.7% of the state’s 5.15 million registered voters had turned in a ballot. At this stage four years ago, 13.9% of voters had done so.
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said this week that he’s not expecting final turnout for the Nov. 3 election to eclipse the 64.6% mark for 2022. But he’s holding out hope.
READ MORE:
DOJ sending election monitors to King County | by Jake Goldstein-Street
More than 700,000 WA state voters have cast ballots | by Jerry Cornfield
News tips, feedback, questions? Email us: [email protected]
Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer, shown here in 2023, has become one of the most prominent constitutional sheriffs in the country. (Photo by Isaac Stone Simonelli/Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting)
By Jacob Jones, InvestigateWest
Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer, 81, has drawn national attention as an outspoken figure of the constitutional sheriff movement, which civil rights watchdogs describe as a far-right, anti-government ideology that dangerously asserts elected local sheriffs can nullify state or federal law. He has championed the sovereign authority of sheriffs across the country, linking up with like-minded lawmen.
With Songer retiring this year, many voters seem eager to turn the page. The candidate Songer supported as his successor, Detective Sgt. Tony Warren, a Republican, received just 27 percent of the vote in the all-party primary in August, far behind former deputy Dwayne Matulovich, who is running as an independent and received 57 percent. Matulovich and Warren face off again next month.
COMMENTARY
By Randy Stapilus
The Northwest Power and Conservation Council uses computer modeling (think AI-adjacent) to analyze data to help develop its proposals and policies for matching electric power resources with need. The power council’s computer tools include the GENESYS (Generation Evaluation System) model.
Where’s the governor?
Hanging with the Danes. On Wednesday, Gov. Bob Ferguson and Karen Eva Abrahamsen, Denmark’s ambassador to the United States, signed an agreement pledging cooperation between the state and European nation on such matters as electrification, biofuels, and hydrogen development. Ferguson wrapped up this deal a week after signing a goodwill pact with Finland’s ambassador to the U.S.
He’s working on budgets and legislation for 2027 with increasing earnestness. A review of public records show he’s held meetings recently on capital budget, tort costs, grocery story pricing and annual cost of living adjustments for teachers. That item on Monday’s calendar also contains a notation for “revenue options,” though Ferguson has vowed not to propose any tax hikes in his next budget.
Ferguson also did some public politicking against Initiative 645, the measure to repeal the income tax on high earners. He took part in events Tuesday morning in Seattle and Thursday morning in Vancouver.
Looking ahead to next week, he’s got a meeting scheduled Wednesday with representatives of Savion, which is pursuing a large solar park and battery storage development in Benton County.
And he’s planning to host trick-or-treaters at the executive mansion on Halloween. The governor’s costume, as of Friday, is a surprise.
IN OTHER NEWS THIS WEEK…
Meta has paid Washington a record-setting fine of more than $51 million for violating campaign finance laws, but lawmakers are being cautioned not to get too excited about the money.
A plan for a new Scottish links-style golf course at an oceanfront Washington state park has divided a community.
The Oklahoma-based company that owns one of the largest gas pipeline networks in the Northwest is beginning to pursue permits to expand that network, and to pump more gas to the region to meet rising electricity demand.
House Speaker Mike Johnson returned to Washington on Wednesday to campaign alongside Republican John Braun, a sign of how important the state senator’s bid to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is for the GOP’s hopes of keeping its majority.
In Washington’s 14th Legislative District, Democrats are vying to flip two state House seats long held by Republicans, but low voter turnout could be a problem.
Candidates in Washington state’s most closely watched congressional race have spent more than $10 million entering the final weeks of the campaign.
Under pressure from the governor, the Washington state Building Code Council is wrestling with how far it can bend residential energy codes to speed up rebuilding homes destroyed by wildfires this summer.
Washington’s hospitals anticipate losing nearly $6 billion in revenue through 2033 due to steep Medicaid cuts in the coming months, according to a report this week.
Thanks for reading The Daily Standard. Did you know our daily morning newsletter is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.