Some experts are calling Tuesday’s big event an “off-year election.” We disagree. Granted, those experts are guided by the fact that there is no presidential vote, but just ask the president about the importance of this election.
Locally, the stakes are extraordinarily high. Southwest Washington will elect a new congressional representative for the first time in 12 years, and neither candidate has run for that office before. Also in the county, five state representative races and one county commissioner race will be decided. Many other critical county and city showdowns are on the ballots.
Clark County’s chameleonic flirtation through the years with red, no blue, no red politicians sets us up as eminently consequential. Both parties have been furiously busy here. The race for U.S. Senate is a dead heat, a toss-up say most polls, and that accentuates the value of swing-county voters.
But Tuesday’s election is about more than just candidates and political parties. It’s also about wallets and purses, the future of the state’s economic development and the past performance of the Legislature. Washingtonians will — or will not — impose a state income tax on high-income earners. We will — or will not — end the state’s monopoly on liquor sales. We will — or will not — erase the taxes on candy, bottled water and soda pop that lawmakers created earlier this year. We will — or will not — make it more difficult for legislators to increase taxes.
When all of the old and new faces are combined with the crucial ballot measures, the fact is clear: This is a crucial election. And that’s why county Auditor Greg Kimsey is projecting a 60 percent voter turnout. It’s also why Secretary of State Sam Reed is projecting a statewide turnout of 66 percent, which would be the highest midterm election turnout in 40 years. Reed believes the turnout in King County (where almost a third of the state’s voters live) will be 67 percent, with 69 percent in Seattle. (Oregon election officials project a 72 percent turnout, fueled in part by a hotly contested gubernatorial race.)
Everyone who follows Washington politics saw this surge in interest coming. The excitement grew in new ways back in August 2009 when the Tea Party movement was born. Momentum increased in this year’s Aug. 17 primary when statewide voter turnout of 41 percent (39 percent in Clark County) set a modern record for a midterm primary. More interest is stoked by the vote-by-mail system, which makes voting more convenient. In fact, as of Friday morning 74,146 ballots already had arrived at the Clark County elections office.
Yes, Tuesday is big, and the assignment for voters has not been easy. There are six initiatives (tying a modern record), plus three measures placed on the ballot by the Legislature. “We really have asked a lot of our voters this election in terms of doing their homework on so many ballot propositions,” Reed said. “I hope voters avail themselves of the state Voters’ Pamphlet, the online and video voters guides, media coverage and other resources.”
Among those resources are Columbian endorsement editorials (remember, just our opinions), available at http://www.columbian.com/news/opinion. The local Voters’ Pamphlet is online at http://www.clarkvotes.org. The state Voters’ Pamphlet is also at that website, as well as at the state website http://www.wa.gov.
It’s been a long grind, but don’t pause too long to catch your breath. Next year’s special election dates are Feb. 8, April 26 and May 17. The Aug. 16, 2011, primary will include nonpartisan city, school and port commissioner races. Then again, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. For now, make sure your ballot is postmarked by Tuesday. To be sure on election day, take your ballot to one of 33 ballot deposit sites, which are listed at http://www.clarkvotes.org.
