Many of us wait until we’ve received our King County voter pamphlet, typically a stand-alone booklet, before sitting down with our ballot and voting.
But in this election, there is no reason to wait. Open your ballot now, and you will find your voter pamphlet. Since there is just a single item on the ballot, the “pamphlet” is a large page folded up inside the same envelope as your ballot.
The voter pamphlet in the ballot does not have the full text of the initiative, so I encourage voters to go to the online voter pamphlet which does have the full text. That can be accessed here.
Full text is supposed to be with the ballot. As citizens voting on a law, we’re supposed to know what we’re voting for.
Anonymous, I agree with you that residents should have access to the full text of any measure they are being asked to approve or reject. The Revised Code of Washington says the voter pamphlet should include the “text of each measure,” but I’m not a lawyer so I can’t speak to whether this legally means the full text. As a matter of principle, I think it should be the full text. When I was on Council, I never approved a new law without reading the full text, and I don’t think voters should be asked to do so either.
Here is what the RCW says:
“RCW 29A.32.241
Contents.
(1) The local voters’ pamphlet shall include but not be limited to the following:
(a) Appearing on the cover, the words “official local voters’ pamphlet,” the name of the jurisdiction producing the pamphlet, and the date of the election or primary;
(b) A list of jurisdictions that have measures or candidates in the pamphlet;
(c) Information on how a person may register to vote and obtain a ballot;
(d) The text of each measure accompanied by an explanatory statement prepared by the prosecuting attorney for any county measure or by the attorney for the jurisdiction submitting the measure if other than a county measure. All explanatory statements for city, town, or district measures not approved by the attorney for the jurisdiction submitting the measure shall be reviewed and approved by the county prosecuting attorney or city attorney, when applicable, before inclusion in the pamphlet;
(e) The arguments for and against each measure submitted by committees selected pursuant to RCW 29A.32.280;
(f) A list of all student engagement hubs in the county as designated under RCW 29A.40.180; and
(g) For partisan primary elections, information on how to vote the applicable ballot format and an explanation that minor political party candidates and independent candidates will appear only on the general election ballot.
(2) The county auditor’s name may not appear in the local voters’ pamphlet in his or her official capacity if the county auditor is a candidate for office during the same year. His or her name may only be included as part of the information normally included for candidates.
[ 2020 c 208 § 12; 2016 c 83 § 2; 2011 c 10 § 29; 2004 c 271 § 123.]
NOTES:
Short title—Findings—2020 c 208: See notes following RCW 29A.08.210.
Notice to registered poll voters—Elections by mail—2011 c 10: See note following RCW 29A.04.008.”
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I had opened my ballot and didn’t realize the folded paper inside was the Voters’ Pamphlet. The outside had ballot information, although I now see where it has a top banner saying “King County Official Local Voters’ Pamphlet”. I wouldn’t have looked at it again if I hadn’t seen this post. I’ve heard several people this week mention they had a ballot but hadn’t received the Voters’ Pamphlet yet. Hmmm… will any of these irregularities matter about legality of this election when it’s over? Depends on the vote no doubt.
Link to the Resolution calling for a special election concerning labor standards/Minimum Wage with 7-page Ordinance 23-02
https://renton.civicweb.net/FileStorage/8621F1E8C127444A8DF501EBDB6EA996-RES%204516%20-%201959%20-%20Resolution%20calling%20for%20special%20e.pdf
Guess what… King County elections had a link in the ballot that wasn’t working for about a week. Basically, if a citizen wanted to find the text of the law, they had to Google it and not rely on the link provided.