WASHINGTON | 12
Electoral Votes |
Population (Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Washington Secretary of State)
Washington has: 39 counties. Five largest counties: King, Pierce, Snohomish, Spokane, Clark. > Five largest cities: Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Vancouver, Bellevue. > Government |
State
of Washington Secretary of State Constitution
Party of WA Seattle
Post-Intelligencer, p conserv. Sound
Politics |
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Voting Eligible
Population*:
4,877,969. VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 64.1%. Washington has had vote by mail since 2005; a handful of counties adopted it before then, others waited until 2006, 2007 or 2008, and Pierce County (Tacoma area) still has not fully adopted it. Voter Registration Deadline: October 8, 2012; new WA State voter registration (in person) October 29. Voting Starts: October 19, 2012 - "Start of 18-day voting period (through Election Day). Ballots are mailed out and Accessible Voting Units (AVUs) are available at voting centers." |
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Overview: The Obama/Biden ticket won Washington
State with a plurality of 464,726 votes (14.87 percentage points),
carrying 16 counties to 23 for Romney/Ryan.
Romney carried all of the Eastern counties as well as Lewis and Wahkiakum. Obama's plurality in King County
(Seattle area) was 392,304 votes. The major party principals made a few
visits to Washington State mostly for
fundraisers in the Seattle area (+). Obama | (Romney) BALLOT [PDF] |
State Primary: August 7, 2012 |
Democratic Precinct Caucuses -- Saturday, April 7, 2012 |
Democrats |
Republicans 43 Delegates (3 RNC; 10 at-large; 30 by CD (3 x 9 CDs) and 40 alternates. 1.88% of the 2,286 Delegates. March 3, 2012 Precinct Caucus Results [non-binding] 6,785 of 6,785 precincts reporting:
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Suspending the
Presidential Preference Primary Allthough almost 1.4 million people participated in the 2008 presidential primary, the Democratic Party did not use the primary as part of its presidential nominating process and the Republicans only partially used it to allocate delegates. In 2004 it was cancelled. Gov. Gregoire's proposed 2011-13 budget, released in mid-Dec. 2010, sought to suspend the state presidential primary, saving $10 million in general fund expenditures. According to a supporting document (Government Efficiency), "Every four years, the state of Washington is required by law to conduct a presidential primary and reimburse counties for the state’s share of election costs for the primary. While the next presidential primary is scheduled in 2012, the Secretary of State will introduce legislation to suspend it." (Reed statement). Legislation was introduced in January. Republicans argued, as summarized by legislative staff: "This bill is contrary to the will of the people expressed in an initiative. Without this primary, military and overseas, elderly, and working voters are disenfranchised because they can't participate in the caucuses. The Republicans always use this primary to choose at least a portion of their delegates. This primary is not a frill. People often do not participate in caucuses and this, the presidential preference primary, offers them a way to participate." Secretary Reed argued, as summarized by legislative staff: "A broad cross-section of voters participate in the Presidential Preference Primary, which is preferable to the party caucus system, where fewer voters participate. However, the political parties are legally entitled to ignore the results of the presidential primary, so it becomes merely a beauty contest. Therefore, due to the state’s fiscal situation, the cost savings outweigh the benefits of holding the primary." The Senate passed SB 5119 on April 6, 2011 by a vote of 34-15, the House passed the measure on April 19 by 69-28 and 1 excused, and Gov. Gregoire signed it on May 12. |
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Voting Eligible
Population*: 4,535,438. VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 67.0%. "Most voters are choosing to vote by mail this election. Of the 39 counties, 37 are using vote-by-mail exclusively. King and Pierce also offer poll-site voting on November 4, but most of their voters are voting by mail." -SoS Registration: Mail-in or online deadline is Oct. 4, 2008; in-person deadline, at county elections office, is Oct. 20. Absentee: Request as early as 90 days before the election. "You will receive your absentee or mail-in ballot approximately 14 days prior to the election." |
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2008
Overview The Obama-Biden ticket amassed a plurality of 521,632 votes (17.17 percentage points), carrying 20 counties to 19 for McCain. There were few candidate visits. The presidential race in Washington tightened for a time after the Republican National Convention, but for most of the Fall the governor's race was the center of attention. Obama/Allies | McCain/Allies | Nader |
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Voting Eligible
Population*: 4,272,914. VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 66.9%. Total Registration: 3,508,208. 2,884,783 total votes were cast; of these 1,974,606, or 68.4%, were absentee ballots. |
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2004
Overview The presidential race in Washington was not closely contested, and the state saw few visits by the candidates. Kerry improved upon Gore's showing, gaining a plurality of 205,307 votes (7.18 percentage points). Kerry carried 12 counties to 27 for Bush. General Election Details Kerry/Allies | Bush-Cheney '04 |
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Voting Eligible
Population*: 4,098,044. Total
Registration: 3,335,714. 2,517,028
total
votes
were
cast;
of
these
1,364,607,
or
54.2%,
were
absentee
ballots.
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2000
Overview Washington had gone Democratic for the past three elections, but the Nader factor created a degree of uncertainty. The Bush campaign invested significant resources; Gore-Lieberman nonetheless ended up winning the state with a plurality of 138,788 votes (5.58 percentage points). Gore carried 11 counties to 28 for Bush. Washington was the scene of one of the most closely fought U.S. Senate races as Maria Cantwell (D) defeated incumbent Slade Gorton (R) with a plurality of just 2,229 votes (0.09 percentage points). Voters also faced seven ballot measures. General Election Activity |
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