House Bill 1932 would have given Washington’s cities and towns the freedom to switch their elections to even years, when voter turnout is much higher and more diverse.
Tag: Even-Year Elections
NPI’s even year elections bill advances out of Senate State Government Committee
HB 1932 would change an old state law dating back to the 1960s that requires municipalities to hold their regularly scheduled elections in odd-numbered years. It received a “do pass” recommendation on February 20th.
Allowing localities to switch their elections to even years is far from a “premature” idea
Read NPI’s rebuttal to an editorial in The Herald of Everett that argued that lawmakers should not pass NPI’s legislation to give localities the freedom to choose their own election timing.
VICTORY! Washington State House passes NPI’s even year elections for localities bill
House Bill 1932, first introduced about a month ago, received the support of fifty-two state representatives, with forty-five in opposition and one excused. The legislation is NPI’s top priority for the 2024 legislative session.
NPI urges Washington State House to advance legislation to move local elections to even years
Read NPI founder Andrew Villeneuve’s prepared remarks in support of House Bill 1932, which would empower local governments in Washington to move their elections to even-numbered years.
NPI makes the case for letting cities switch to even year elections on KUOW’s Soundside
NPI’s proposal to allow cities and towns to move their regularly scheduled elections to even years if they want is drawing a lot of interest in the wake of the 2023 general election, which saw the worst turnout in state history.
2023 is the new worst: Washington again sets a record for low turnout in a general election
November 28th, 2023 was the deadline for counties to certify their returns in the November 2023 general election. Statewide turnout will pass into the history books at 36.41% for this year. That’s the lowest Washington has seen since recordkeeping began.
2023 statewide voter turnout could end up as the worst ever in Washington history
Washington State is at real risk of setting a new record for the worst general election turnout in state history.
Teresa Mosqueda proposes amending Seattle’s charter to stagger council terms and prepare city for switch to even-year elections
Mosqueda is putting on the table a thoughtful proposal to adjust the election timing for Seattle’s eleven executive and legislative positions. The proposal takes the form of a charter amendment that would be submitted to voters in November of 2024.
King County 2023 Top Two voter turnout stalls out at around 30%, falling short of 35%
King County Elections staff had hoped that countywide turnout would surpass 35%, but it has stalled out at around 30%, and it looks like it will be below what it was in 2021 and 2019.
Happening today: NPI’s Even Year Elections For All panel convenes at Netroots Nation ’23
Learn about the voting justice panel that the Northwest Progressive Institute is hosting at Netroots Nation 2023.
Montana Republican legislators are working on switching cities to even-year elections
Bipartisan momentum for even year elections across the United States is growing, judging by an effort underway in Montana by Republican legislators to move city and municipal elections to higher turnout presidential and midterm years.
Once upon a time, Washington cities had the freedom to choose their election timing
It used to be that many cities in Washington had the power to choose when their elections would be held. That’s right: they once had the same freedom our bill proposes to give them! Learn about the history of the statute.
NPI’s legislation to allow cities and towns to switch their elections to even-numbered years gets a “do pass” recommendation
A proposed state law developed by NPI and Senator Javier Valdez (D‑46th District: Seattle) that would give cities and towns the freedom to switch their elections to even-numbered years passed out of the Senate State Government & Elections Committee on February 17th with a “do pass” recommendation, keeping the bill alive for further consideration.