Washington elections, 2013

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The state of Washington held elections in 2013. Below are the dates of note:

• Signature filing deadline: January 4 (Initiative to the Legislature) and July 5 (Initiative to the People)

On the 2013 ballot
U.S. Senate	d
U.S. House	d
State Executives	d
State Senate	a
State House	d
Ballot measures	a
Click here for all November 5, 2013 Election Results

2013 elections

Special elections

There were several special elections scheduled for the state of Washington in 2013.

State Senate

State Senate

See also: Washington state legislative special elections, 2013

State Senate District 7

Sen. Bob Morton (R) retired on January 1, 2013. His term in the state senate ran until 2014. Republican precinct committee officers chose John Smith (R) to fill his seat during the 2013 session. A special election for the rest of his term was held on November 5, with a primary on August 6. The winners of the August 6 primary, Brian Dansel and John Smith, faced off in the November 5 general election, and Dansel won.

Related: See election results here.

State Senate District 8

Sen. Jerome Delvin (R) resigned on January 1, 2013, to serve as Benton County Commissioner. His term in the state senate ran until 2014. Republican precinct committee officers chose Sharon Brown (R) to fill his seat during the 2013 session. A special election for the rest of his term was held on November 5, with a primary on August 6. The winners of the August 6 primary, Phillip R. Lemley and Sharon Brown, faced off in the November 5 general election, and Brown won.

Related: See election results here.

State Senate District 26

Sen. Derek Kilmer (D) won election to the United States House of Representatives in November 2012. His term in the state senate ran until 2014. Democratic precinct committee officers chose Nathan Schlicher (D) to fill his seat during the 2013 session. A special election for the rest of his term was held on November 5, with a primary on August 6. Nathan Schlicher and Jan Angel faced off in the November 5 special election, and Angel won.

As of October 19, more than $2.3 million has been spent on this race, making it the most expensive state legislative campaign in Washington history. The candidates themselves reported spending nearly $1.2 million, while satellite spending has accounted for another $1.2 million. More than half of that million has been spent in opposition of Angel. This campaign has drawn significant interest because the Republican-led coalition currently holds a one-vote majority in the chamber. Analysts believe that, should Angel win the seat, it may give Republicans a foothold that will be hard to lose in the midterm elections next year. A win for Schlicher, however, may seal the fate of the Republican-lead coalition in those same elections.

With a little more than one week left before the special election, internal polling by both Democrats and Republicans showed the race to be a virtual tie. In the August 6 primary, Angel defeated Schlicher by more than nine points - 54.6% to 45.4%. The district is considered evenly split, with President Obama winning by 900 votes in the 2012 presidential election.

Related: See election results here.

Statewide ballot measures

Statewide ballot measures in Washington

See also: Washington 2013 ballot measures

Seven ballot measures are certified for the November 5, 2013 ballot in the state of Washington.

The initiative drive deadline for initiatives to the legislature was on January 4, 2013. Two initiatives filed signatures by that deadline. When enough signatures are deemed valid for an initiative to the legislature, that initiative is sent to the legislature for review. If the legislature does not enact the proposal, it is then sent to the ballot. Washington's state legislative session began January 14, 2013, and concluded on April 28, 2013, but was followed by two special sessions. The first special legislative session concluded June 11, and the second ended June 29.

The signature filing deadline for initiatives to the people was July 5, 2013. A call to the Washington Secretary of State's office confirmed that no signatures were filed by the deadline. As of the deadline, 85 initiatives had been filed, therefore it is unusual that none of these campaigns were able to gather enough signatures by the deadline. Washington ballots have not been void of initiatives to the people since 1989.

Five of the measures on this year's ballot were advisory questions, which are nonbinding ballot questions. These particular advisory questions were not explicitly sent to the ballot by the legislature, but were instead automatically placed on the ballot in compliance with Initiative 960. That initiative requires advisory votes to be placed on the ballot any time the legislature raises new taxes, expands existing taxes, or eliminates tax breaks.

On September 10, 2013, The Elway Poll put out the following polling information regarding the two Washington 2013 Initiatives to the Legislature(left). However, on October 21, 2013, The Elway Poll released updated polling information (right) showing that the support side's lead shrunk significantly.

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITL	Initiative 517	Direct democracy	Penalties for harassing petition organizers, limit pre-election litigation, extend signature gathering time	d
ITL	Initiative 522	Business regulation	Requires labels on food offered for sale if food is made with genetic material changed	d
AQ	Advisory Vote 3	Taxes	Eliminates a leasehold excise tax credit for taxpayers who lease publicly-owned property	a
AQ	Advisory Vote 4	Taxes	Imposes an aircraft excise tax on commuter air carriers	a
AQ	Advisory Vote 5	Taxes	Extends the insurance premium tax to some insurance for pediatric oral services	d
AQ	Advisory Vote 6	Taxes	Eliminates a retail sales tax exemption for certain telephone and telecommunications services	d
AQ	Advisory Vote 7	Taxes	Extends estate tax on certain property transfers and increased rates for estates over $4,000,000	a

Related: 2013 ballot measures

Local ballot measures

Local ballot measures in Washington

See also: Local ballot measures, Washington

Click below for more information about local ballot measure elections on:

• February 12, 2013
• April 23, 2013
• August 6, 2013
• November 5, 2013

Voting in Washington

See also: Voting in Washington

Important voting information

• Washington uses a blanket primary system, meaning that all candidates compete in the same primary election, regardless of party affiliation. The two who receive the most votes then advance to the general election. This also means the primary is an open primary, meaning that citizens do not need to register for a specific party to vote in the primary.
• You can register to vote online, by mail, or in-person at your county elections department. Registration must be completed 29 days in advance if by mail or online. If registering in person, it must be done 8 days prior to the election.
• Washington has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Voting absentee

See also: Absentee voting by state

For information about eligibility, deadlines, military and overseas voting and updates to the voting laws in Washington, please visit our absentee voting by state page.

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.

Elections Performance Index

See also: Pew Charitable Trusts' Elections Performance Index

Washington ranked 2nd out of the 50 states and District of Columbia in the Pew Charitable Trusts' Elections Performance Index (EPI), based on the 2012 elections. The EPI examined election administration performance and assigned an average percentage score based on 17 indicators of election performance. These indicators were chosen in order to determine both the convenience and integrity of these three phases of an election: registration, voting and counting. Washington received an overall score of 76 percent.

See also

• Portal:Elections
• Elections and events calendar
• Election result resources
• Voter guides
• State Blue Books
• Voting in Washington
• Absentee voting
• Early voting