Ballots arriving for Nov. elections
Washington voters began receiving ballots last week with several important state, national and local elections listed on them. Coverage of elections may be found on the Columbia Basin Herald’s political coverage site at https://bit.ly/CBHPOLITICS.
R. HANS MILLER/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
EPHRATA – Ballots for the 2024 General Election have begun arriving in mailboxes across Washington with several major races for voters to mark their preferences for. Among them are president, governor, Washington Supreme Court justices, Congressional seats and multiple initiatives.
Ballots were required to be mailed to Washington voters by Oct. 18. Voters can register online or by mail through Oct. 28, and the U.S. Postal Service recommends voters mailing their ballots do so no later than Oct. 29 to ensure they are postmarked in a timely manner. Ballot drop boxes will be open until 8 p.m. Nov. 5, Election Day. For additional information on voter registration, speak with your county auditor’s office.
“This is a civic responsibility for being an American. It is such a small amount of time and effort it takes to become familiar enough with the issues to vote once a year, and for the big elections, it's every other year,” Democratic Party Chair for Grant County Steve Starr previously told the Columbia Basin Herald.
Starr and Grant County GOP Chair Andrew Koeppen agreed that they wanted maximum voter participation in this year’s election.
“If you don't vote, your voice absolutely will not be heard,” Koeppen said in late September. “If you vote, if we can get 100% of the people out to vote, then your voice will be heard, and that's why I'm encouraging everybody to vote.”
Items on the ballot include the U.S. presidential race with major party candidates Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, and former President Donald J. Trump, the Republican nominee. Coverage of what minor party candidates made the ballot may be found at https://bit.ly/3UgwSq2.
At the Congressional level, Dan Newhouse, the Republican incumbent is facing Jerrod Sessler, another Republican, are vying for Washington’s 4th Legislative District House Seat in Washington D.C. Coverage of this race and related issues may be found at the following links:
For 9th Congressional District voters in Adams County, the choice of whether to reelect Republican Joe Schmick or select Democratic candidate Dr. Pam Kohlmeier will be on the ballot. Coverage of that race may be found at the following links:
Democrat Maria Cantwell is running against Republican challenger Dr. Raul Garcia for the U.S. Senate as well. Information on those candidates and their positions on various issues may be found at www.cantwell.com and www.garciaforwa.com
Washingtonians will select candidates for several statewide offices, including Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Auditor, Attorney General, Commissioner of Public Lands, Superintendent of Public Instruction, and Washington Insurance Commissioner. Three Washington Supreme Court seats are on the ballot as well. Only Position #2 is an opposed race with Sal Mungia and Dave Larson competing against one another. The position is nonpartisan. Coverage of that election may be found at https://bit.ly/SUPCTWA1.
Rep. Tom Dent, R-Moses Lake, and Rep. Alex Ybarra, R-Quincy, are both running unopposed for reelection.
Grant and Adams counties both have county commission races on the ballot.
In Grant County, incumbent Rob Jones is facing fellow Republican David Henderson as he campaigns to retain his seat on the Grant County Board of County Commissioners. Coverage of that race may be found at:
After Grant County Commissioner Danny Stone opted not to run for reelection, candidates Amador Castro and Kevin Burgess – both Republicans – stepped into the race to fill the seat. Castro is an educator and entrepreneur in Moses Lake and Burgess is a realtor based in Moses Lake. Coverage of the election may be found here:
One Grant County Public Utility District race sees incumbent Tom Flint running against Robert “Bob” Allen to retain his seat. Coverage of that race may be found at https://bit.ly/PUD2024-1.
PUD Commissioner Judy Wilson is running unopposed to retain her seat on the PUD board.
Adams County Commissioner Dan Blankenship is running for a second term on the Addams County Board of County Commissioners. The incumbent commissioner is being challenged by David Lobe, of Ritzville. Both are Republicans. Coverage of the race may be found at the following links:
• https://bit.ly/BLANKENSHIP-1
The Columbia Basin Herald is grateful to the South Grant County Chamber of Commerce and the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce for organizing candidate forums focused on this year’s election. Videos of those forums may be found at:
An additional forum will be hosted this Wednesday by the Ephrata American Legion Post 429 at 276 Sixth Ave. NW in Ephrata. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the event is set to begin at 6:30 p.m.
Multiple initiatives are on the ballot as well which consider the repeal of the Climate Commitment Act, state restrictions on energy sources, a repeal of Washington’s Capital Gains Tax and provide Washingtonians with the ability to opt out of the state’s long-term care program.
Cheryl Schweizer and Nance Beston contributed to this report.
Editor’s Note: The Columbia Basin Herald does not endorse any candidate or initiative. We encourage our readers to educate themselves and vote their conscience. We remind our readers that voting is not only a right but a responsibility as well.