Washington elections, 2012

Other elections
View elections by state and year:
Select a state:AlabamaAlaskaArkansasArizonaCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingSelect a year:2027202620252024202320222021202020192018201720162015201420132012Reset

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

U.S. Senate

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"

U.S. House

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

State Executives

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	51.4%	1,582,802
	Republican	Rob McKenna	48.3%	1,488,245
	Other	Write-in votes	0.3%	8,592
Total Votes				3,079,639
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

State Senate

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	26
	Republican Party	22	23
Total		49	49

State House

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

Ballot measures

See also: Washington 2012 ballot measures

November 6, 2012

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result	Yes Votes	No Votes
LRAQ	Advisory Vote 1	Taxes	Eliminate a business and occupation tax deduction for certain financial institutions’ interest on residential loans.		1,175,863 (43%)	1,552,134 (57%)
LRAQ	Advisory Vote 2	Taxes	Extend the expiration of a tax on possession of petroleum products and reduce the tax rate.		1,207,812 (45%)	1,476,491 (55%)
CISS	Initiative 1185	Supermajority; Ballot measures; Taxes; Legislature	Require either two-thirds legislative approval or a voter approval to raise taxes.		1,892,969 (64%)	1,069,083 (36%)
CISS	Initiative 1240	School choice; Public education governance	Authorize up to 40 public charter schools in Washington	a	1,525,807 (51%)	1,484,125 (49%)
IndISS	Initiative 502	Marijuana	Legalize and regulate the production, possession, delivery, and distribution of marijuana.	a	1,724,209 (56%)	1,371,235 (44%)
VR	Referendum 74	Family	Legalize same-sex marriage.	a	1,659,915 (54%)	1,431,285 (46%)
LRCA	SJR 8221	Budgets	Phase-down the debt limit percentage and modify the calculation date, period, and the term general state revenues.	a	1,748,436 (63%)	1,031,039 (37%)
LRCA	SJR 8223	Higher education governance	Authorize state research universities to invest specified public funds as authorized by the legislature.		1,258,969 (44%)	1,602,785 (56%)
LRCA	SJR 8221	Budgets	The Washington State Debt Amendment, also known as SJR 8221, was on the November 6, 2012 statewide ballot in Washington as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, where it was approved. The measure included the recommendations of the commission on state debt, according to the text of the measure. According to the Washington Secretary of State's office, the measure was said to implement changes in use of state bond debt.	a	0 (0%)	0 (0%)

Local measures

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

Ballotpedia tracked local ballot elections in 11 states. Those states included: 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 were 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 was one of 16 states to use an open primary system. Voters were required to register to vote in the primary by July 9, 2012, which was 29 days before the primary took place. First-time Washington voters could register in person by July 30, 2012, which was 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 was 29 days prior to the election day, which in 2012 was 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 is an all-mail voting state. A ballot is automatically mailed to each registered voter at least 18 days prior to the election. A postage-paid return envelope is included with each ballot. Completed ballots must either be returned by mail and postmarked by Election Day or returned in person and deposited into an official dropbox by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

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 34 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