Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Cities in Washington
 |
Top 100 cities by population |
Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of elections in the 100 largest cities in America by population and the largest counties that overlap those cities. This encompasses all city, county, judicial, school district, and special district offices appearing on the ballot within those cities. Ballotpedia also covers mayors, city councils, and district attorneys in all state capitals.
This page includes the following resources:
- The city governments covered by Ballotpedia in Washington
- An overview of local elections in Washington
- An overview of the initiative process in Washington
Cities
City government
Click the links in the table below for information about the cities in Ballotpedia's coverage scope and the county governments that overlap those cities:
| City | County |
|---|---|
| Olympia | Thurston County |
| Seattle | King County |
| Spokane | Spokane County |
According to a 2022 study from the U.S. Census Bureau, this state's local governments consist of 39 counties, 281 cities, towns, and villages, and 1,275 special districts.[1]
Elections
Click the links below for information about the elections held in each municipality. Please note that this is not a comprehensive list of municipalities that held elections each year in this state; click here to learn more about Ballotpedia's local government coverage scope.
2025
- Olympia, Washington - City council
- Seattle, Washington - Mayor, city attorney, and city council
- Spokane, Washington - City council and municipal court judge
- King County, Washington - County executive, county council, Port of Seattle Commission, conservation district board, and superior court judges (special)
- All local elections by county
- Washington school board elections
2024
- Seattle, Washington - City council (special)
- King County, Washington - King Conservation District, superior court judges, and district court judges (Special)
- Spokane County, Washington - County commission and superior court
- All other local elections by county
2023
- Olympia, Washington - Mayor and city council
- Seattle, Washington - City council
- Spokane, Washington - Mayor and city council
- King County, Washington - King County Conservation District
- Spokane County, Washington - Superior court judge
- Washington school board elections
2022
- Olympia, Washington - Prosecuting attorney
- Seattle, Washington - Seattle Municipal Court judges
- King County, Washington - Prosecutor, conservation district board, superior court judges, and district court judges
- Spokane County, Washington - Assesor, auditor, clerk, prosecuting attorney, sheriff, treasurer, county commission, and district court judges
2021
- Olympia, Washington - City council
- Seattle, Washington - Mayor, city council, and city attorney
- Clallam County, Washington - City elections in Forks, Port Angeles, and Sequim
- King County, Washington - Executive, county council, Seattle port commissioner, superior court judge, one intermediate appellate court judge, and one King Conservation District seat
- Washington school board elections
2020
- King County, Washington - King Conservation District, King County Superior Court, King County District Court
Initiative process availability
The availability of initiative varies depending on the classification, form of government, and home rule status of a town, city, or county.
Counties
General law counties do not have initiative authority, except to petition to adopt a charter. The six home rule charter counties do have authority, and all six have adopted an initiative process.[2]
Cities
First class charter cities have a mandated initiative process for charter amendments. A first class charter city may adopt initiative for ordinances in its charter, and all ten have done so.
Second class cities and towns do not have authority to adopt initiative.
Code cities have authority to permit initiative. If a code city exercises that authority, the initiative process is set by state statute. As of 2005, approximately 46 code cities had elected to allow initiative. There is one city, Shelton, which uses the commission form of government and has a mandated initiative process.
The following code cities permit initiative:[3][4]
- Battle Ground
- Bellevue
- Blaine
- Bonney Lake
- Bothell
- Brier
- Burien
- Camas
- Chelan
- Cheney
- Clarkston
- Des Moines
- Edgewood
- Edmonds
- Ellensburg
- Federal Way
- Ferndale
- Goldendale
- Issaquah
- Kelso
- Kent
- Lake Forest Park
- Longview
- Lynnwood
- Mercer Island
- Mill Creek
- Monroe
- Mountlake Terrace
- Mukilteo
- North Bend
- Ocean Shores
- Olympia
- Rainier
- Raymond
- Redmond
- Renton
- Ridgefield
- SeaTac
- Sequim
- Shoreline
- Shelton
- Tukwila
- Tumwater
- Walla Walla
- Wenatchee
- Woodinville
See also
| Washington | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Washington municipal code library
- Washington state government website
Footnotes
- ↑ U.S. Census Bureau, "2022 Census of Governments – Organization," accessed October 16, 2023
- ↑ Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington, "County Forms of Government," accessed August 23, 2013
- ↑ Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington, "Initiative and Referendum Guide for Washington Cities and Charter Counties," April 2018
- ↑ Ballotpedia, "Types & #s of local government by state," September 2012
