By Bill Lucia | Editor
Welcome back to the Daily Standard's weekend edition, where we recap some of the week's top stories.
Number of the week: 37%
That’s the share of Washington’s 5.1 million voters who returned ballots in the Aug. 4 primary as of Friday. In other words, about 3.2 million people who could’ve voted did not.
Turnout in the 2022 midterm primary election was 41%. Stuart Holmes, Washington’s director of elections, noted that year featured statewide races for the U.S. Senate and secretary of state. He flagged 2014 as the last even-year primary that did not include any statewide races. Turnout that year was 31.1%.
Another data point to consider is the 2018 midterm primary, which came about 18 months into President Donald Trump’s first term: 40.8% of voters turned out.
(Photo by Washington State Standard)
Holmes said he was “pleasantly surprised” by this year’s primary turnout, noting that Arizona’s primary was a couple of weeks before Washington’s and participation there was down (checking in around 27.4%).
Still, he acknowledged 37% turnout “is not great.”
“This will be one of the most important elections that our country has this year, and so for people to not want to participate in the primary is sad,” he said. “It is good historically speaking, but still quite troubling to see voters not wanting to participate.”
Ballot return statistics show that older voters were more likely to participate and that the lowest ballot return rates are among voters ages 18 to 34.
Ballots returned by age
(Chart courtesy of secretary of state’s office)
Meanwhile, about 69% of voters returned ballots via drop boxes, compared to about 30.7% by mail, according to Friday’s statistics. Because of concerns about post office delays, election officials advised voters to mail ballots at least a week before election day or to use a drop box.
After next Tuesday’s county certification deadline for primary results, it’ll become clearer how many mail-in ballots are received with postmarks too late to count, something that’s especially a concern in areas affected by wildfires. Holmes said that King and Snohomish county officials were experimenting with sending mail pieces at election time to see how long they take to arrive at election offices.
At least one hand recount is likely. This would be for the second-place spot in the 42nd District state Senate race in northwest Washington’s Whatcom County. Michael Shepard currently leads Eamonn Collins by 20 votes there. Both candidates are Democrats. “While that's not super fun to do hand recounts for election administrators,” Holmes said, “it does demonstrate the accuracy of the system.”
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By Jerry Cornfield
Washington state Rep. Tarra Simmons was fined $15,000 on Friday by a state ethics panel for improperly using her position to steer public funds to a nonprofit where she worked, and trying to retaliate against the person who initiated the investigation against her. The Legislative Ethics Board concluded the Bremerton Democrat committed three violations of conflict of interest and special privilege laws, and levied the maximum $5,000 penalty for each. She also must pay the costs of state attorneys.
Simmons, who adamantly denies wrongdoing, said the fine was unfair and excessive given that she had to pursue a hearing to prove three other allegations were untrue. She said she is planning to appeal in Thurston County Superior Court, where she can “finally be heard by a non-political entity lacking any personal interest in the outcome of her case, and where the repeated violations of her due process rights will finally be heard.”
Simmons is seeking a fourth term representing the 23rd Legislative District in Kitsap County that includes the communities of Hansville, Kingston, Poulsbo, Bremerton and Bainbridge Island. The ruling arrives a little more than a week after the primary in which Simmons outperformed fellow Democrat Daria Ilgen by a margin of 57.3% to 39%.
By Jake Goldstein-Street
Authorities charged Democratic state House candidate Krista Perez Thursday with impaired driving that resulted in a five-car crash in Tacoma earlier in the week.
Perez, 40, is accused of driving her pickup truck into a parked car, causing a chain reaction that left three other cars damaged. Her Chevy Silverado was nearly on top of another car, and her driver’s airbag had been deployed, according to police reports. Police also say she refused to cooperate with a breathalyzer test.
As of Friday, there were no signs Perez would suspend her campaign. “We’re talking about a DUI,” Perez’s defense attorney, Bryan G. Hershman, told the Standard. “It’s not like we’re talking about felony murder here.”
“No matter what happens in this DUI case, there’s still homeless people we need to get off the streets,” he added. “I hope we can stay focused on what’s relevant.”
Perez, who has support from public labor unions, is attempting to unseat a fellow Democrat, Rep. Melanie Morgan, in the 29th District, which covers most of south and east Tacoma, Parkland, Spanaway and parts of Lakewood. Morgan has been in office since 2019 and voted against the state’s new income tax on high earners.
Where’s the governor?
He was in Spokane again Monday as the response to the devastating wildfires there continues. Ferguson visited a Red Cross shelter and took part in a press conference where he announced additional steps the state is taking to help fire victims. During the trip, he also met with the Spokane Tribal Council to discuss fire issues.
Calendar information obtained through a public records request shows a half-day political event, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. this past Tuesday. A campaign consultant for Ferguson did not respond to a request for details.
Later Tuesday, his schedule indicates he met with three Democratic lawmakers: Rep. Steve Bergquist, Sen. Lisa Wellman, and Sen. Claire Wilson.
Democratic state Sen. Marko Liias, who chairs the transportation committee, said Ferguson postponed a meeting with him Monday due to the fire response. Ferguson’s budget director met with Liias instead, and they discussed the transportation budget.
On Wednesday, Ferguson appeared with U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell in Yakima for the opening of an affordable housing complex. His schedule also shows he met that day with the Yakama Nation Tribal Council.
Spokespeople for the governor’s office did not respond Friday to follow up on whether he received any reply to his invitation for President Trump or someone from his administration to visit the state to see fire damage.
IN OTHER NEWS
Primary results suggest that for Republican candidates in Washington, there’s no escaping headwinds created by President Donald Trump and that the GOP could be facing a tough outlook in November.
Deaths and critical injuries in Washington’s child welfare system continued to fall this spring, after a record high in 2025 that had lawmakers considering changing state law.
The Washington State Department of Transportation is relocating employees and scaling back access to its aging headquarters on the Capitol Campus in Olympia amid continuing concerns about the building’s structural integrity.
A new analysis from the state Department of Revenue shows Washington’s high-earner income tax will produce hundreds of millions of dollars more than previously assumed — if voters don’t ditch it this fall.
A judge on Wednesday found Kalshi is likely violating Washington state gambling laws and ordered the company to drastically scale back operations in the state, including the wagers it now offers on sports and elections.
The Pacific Northwest will need a massive buildout of new energy infrastructure over the next six years to meet rising electricity demand, according to a draft regional power plan released Thursday.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez went on the offensive this week with a campaign ad accusing Republican John Braun of wanting to outlaw abortion in Washington state and the nation.
Jaelynn Scott is set to become Washington’s first openly transgender legislator after sailing through last week’s primary.
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