Washington elections, 2012

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The state of Washington held elections in 2012. Below are the dates of note:

• Signature filing deadline: May 18, 2012 & July 6, 2012 (Measures only)
• Primary date: August 7, 2012
• General election date: November 6, 2012

On the 2012 ballot			Click here for all November 6, 2012 Election Results
U.S. Senate (1 seat)	a	Preview Article
U.S. House (10 seats)	a
State Executives (9 positions)	a	Preview Article
State Senate (26 seats)	a	Preview Article
State House (98 seats)	a
Ballot measures (8 measures)	a	Preview Article

2012 Elections

Note: Election information listed on this page does not pertain to 2012 presidential elections. For more about Ballotpedia's areas of coverage, click here.
For election results in the 50 states, see our November 6, 2012 election results page

Elections by type

• U.S. Senate
• U.S. House
• State Executives
• State Senate
• State House
• Ballot measures
• Local measures

See also: United States Senate elections in Washington, 2012

U.S. Senate, Washington, General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Maria Cantwell Incumbent	60.5%	1,855,493
	Republican	Michael Baumgartner	39.5%	1,213,924
Total Votes				3,069,417
Source: Washington Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, 2012

Washington received an additional seat from redistricting. The seat was won by a Democrat, giving the party a two seat advantage.

Members of the U.S. House from Washington -- Partisan Breakdown
Party		As of November 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	5	6
	Republican Party	4	4
Total		9	10

See also: Washington state executive official elections, 2012

There were nine state executive positions up for election.

• Governor
• Lieutenant Governor
• Secretary of State
• Attorney General
• Treasurer
• State Auditor
• Superintendent of Public Instruction
• Commissioner of Insurance
• Commissioner of Public Lands

Governor of Washington General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jay Inslee	51.5%	1,582,802
	Republican	Rob McKenna	48.5%	1,488,245
Total Votes				3,071,047
Election Results via Washington Secretary of State.

Lieutenant Governor of Washington General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Brad Owen Incumbent	53.7%	1,575,133
	Republican	Bill Finkbeiner	46.3%	1,359,212
Total Votes				2,934,345
Election Results via Washington Secretary of State.

Attorney General of Washington General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Bob Ferguson	53.5%	1,564,443
	Republican	Reagan Dunn	46.5%	1,361,010
Total Votes				2,925,453
Election Results via Washington Secretary of State.

Washington Secretary of State General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Kim Wyman	50.4%	1,464,741
	Democratic	Kathleen Drew	49.6%	1,442,868
Total Votes				2,907,609
Election Results via Washington Secretary of State.

Washington Treasurer General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	James McIntire Incumbent	58.7%	1,695,401
	Republican	Sharon Hanek	41.3%	1,192,150
Total Votes				2,887,551
Election Results via Washington Secretary of State.

Washington State Auditor General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Troy Kelley	52.9%	1,512,620
	Republican	James Watkins	47.1%	1,344,137
Total Votes				2,856,757
Election Results via Washington Secretary of State.

Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	N/A	Randy Dorn Incumbent	100%	2,164,163
Total Votes				2,164,163
Election Results via Washington Secretary of State.

Washington Commissioner of Insurance General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Mike Kreidler Incumbent	58.3%	1,662,555
	Republican	John Adams	41.7%	1,188,926
Total Votes				2,851,481
Election Results via Washington Secretary of State.

Washington Commissioner of Public Lands General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Peter Goldmark Incumbent	58.7%	1,692,083
	Republican	Clint Didier	41.3%	1,188,411
Total Votes				2,880,494
Election Results via Washington Secretary of State.

See also: Washington State Senate elections, 2012

Heading into the election, Democrats maintained partisan control in the state senate.

Washington State Senate
Party		As of November 5, 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	27	27
	Republican Party	22	22
Total		49	49

See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2012

Heading into the election, Democrats maintained partisan control in the state house.

Washington House of Representatives
Party		As of November 5, 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	56	55
	Republican Party	42	43
Total		98	98

See also: Washington 2012 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITP	Initiative 1185	Taxes	Would require either two-thirds legislative approval or a vote by the people in order to raise taxes.	aot
ITP	Initiative 1240	Education	Allow 40 public charter schools in the state over five years.	a
VR	Referendum 74	Marriage	Would ask if same-sex marriage should be legalized in the state.	a
ITL	Initiative 502	Marijuana	Would legalize and regulate the sale of small amounts of marijuana to people 21 and older	a
LRCA	SJR 8221	Budgets	To include the recommendations of the commission on state debt.	a
LRCA	SJR 8223	Education	Provide authority to state research universities to invest funds.	d
AQ	Advisory Vote 1	Taxes	Declares an intent to improve the long-term sustainability of the state budget.	a
AQ	Advisory Vote 2	Insurance	Delays the expiration of the pollution liability insurance agency's funding.	a

See also: Local ballot measures, Washington and Local ballot measure elections in 2012

Ballotpedia regularly tracks local ballot elections in 11 states. These states include Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin.

For the state of Washington, below is a glimpse of some of the local measures that appeared or are scheduled to appear on ballots in 2012.

• Fire Protection District Four Bond Proposition (November 2012)
• Endicott Park and Recreation District No. 7 Special Tax Levy (November 2012)
• Tekoa Park and Recreation District No. 6 Levy Proposition (November 2012)
• Oakesdale Park and Recreation District No. 4 Special Levy Proposition (November 2012)
• St. John Park and Recreation District No. 3 Special Levy Proposition (November 2012)
• LaCrosse Park and Recreation District No. 1 Special Tax Levy Proposition (November 2012)
• Whitman County Public Hospital District No. 4 Formation Proposition (November 2012)
• Endicott Cemetery District No. 4 Special Tax Levy Proposition (November 2012)
• St. John Cemetery District No. 3 Levy Proposition (November 2012)
• Oakesdale Cemetery District No. 1 Special Levy Proposition (November 2012)

...click here for all 2012 Washington local measures.

Secretary of State Sam Reed predicted voter turnout of 81 percent in the general election.

Eligibility to Vote

Primary election

See also: Voting in the 2012 primary elections

Washington is one of 19 states to use an open primary system. Voters were required to register to vote in the primary by July 9, 2012, which is 29 days before the primary took place , or first-time Washington voters may register in person by July 30, 2012, which is 8 days before the primary. (Information about registering to vote)

General election

See also: Voting in the 2012 general elections

The deadline to register to vote is 29 days prior to the election day, which in 2012 was be October 8. In person first time voting registration deadline was October 29.

• Voter ID info
• Residency requirements: Resident
• Same-day registration: None

Voting absentee

See also: Absentee Voting

Washington uses an exclusively vote by mail system. Therefore there is no need for absentee balloting.

Washington State voter registration form.
Source:Washington Secretary of State's blog "From our corner"

Voting early

See also: Early voting

Washington is one of 33 states that has early voting with no specific requirements as to who can vote early. Early voting begins 18 days before an election and ends on the day prior to election day. The average number of days prior to an election that voters can cast an early ballot is 21 days in states with a definitive starting date.

See also

• Statewide elections, 2012
• 2012 election dates
• Election result resources
• Voter guides
• State Blue Books
• State Poll Opening and Closing Times (2012)
• Voting in Washington
• Absentee voting
• Early voting