Elections and Voting

Sucking Caucus

Krist Novoselic: Presidential Pick-A-Problem Primary

Once More for the People in the Cheap Seats: The Primary Doesn't Count

House of Blues, Rock, and Ranked Choice in LA

Ranking the Candidates

Krist Novoselic: Non-Partisan Elections For King County?

Krist Novoselic: 21st Century Democracy

An Interview With Matt Gonzalez - Ralph Nader's Would-Be Vice President

Rating Top Two, and the Candidates for Secretary of State

Damn It Feels Good To Be An Incumbent

Vote 08: Will It Be 2004 All Over Again?

We Need Universal Voter Registration

Your Second Grade Teacher Was Right - Good Handwriting is Important

The Real, Real Reason Dino Rossi Lost

After the re-re-defeat of gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi in the Nov. 4 election, Republicans in the state are still clutching their knees while on the ground crying "Why? Why? Why?" Cheap Nancy Kerrigan jokes aside, the question is a good one for political geeks who are so inclined. An ... More >>

Voters Want Choices. And They Want to Be Heard

That's why Ranked Choice Voting makes so much sense.

You Can't Take the Politics Out of Politics

Krist Novoselic's column runs every Tuesday on the Daily Weekly. Anyone who needs further convincing that it's impossible to take the politics out of politics should look no further than King County, Washington. Like the Florida butterfly ballot that wrecked the 2000 presidential election for Demo ... More >>

Will Low Voter Turnout Steel Irons' Chances?

Today's special election, in order to select a new non-partisan King County Elections Director, promises to be an ill-attended venture with voter participation numbers likely to come in at around 25 percent. That's a disappointing showing, considering how all-mail voting has been touted to incr ... More >>

Voters Still Haven't Received Ballots. Now What?

I've been getting a lot of chatter about folks not receiving a ballot from the King County Elections Office. This is the first county-wide election where voters will not be given the option of voting at a polling place. In theory, voters should have received their ballot in the mail about 20 days ag ... More >>

Sherril Huff Wins Elections Director Race

It wasn't as close a race as most political observers thought it would be. Hell it wasn't even close at all. Current King County Elections Director Sherril Huff won today's special election, by an insurmountable margin. Initial vote totals were posted on the King County Elections Office website ... More >>

Tim Eyman, the Profitician

Illustration by Tim GaborKrist Novoselic's column runs every Tuesday on the Daily Weekly.Here's how the initiative process is supposed to work: Like-minded citizens, activists and volunteers passionate about a law they think should be created or changed collect enough signatures to qualify the issue ... More >>

Why Won't My Mexican Boyfriends Treat Me Right?

Illustration by Tim GaborKrist Novoselic's column runs every Tuesday on the Daily Weekly.Here's how the initiative process is supposed to work: Like-minded citizens, activists and volunteers passionate about a law they think should be created or changed collect enough signatures to qualify the issue ... More >>

Should We Elect to Elect the Elections Director?

Even if county voters give themselves the right to choose, will anyone run for the post?

Every Vote (Kind of) Counts

If the number of disqualified ballots in the August primary is any indication, King County is in for a repeat of its 2004 recount crisis.

Can't Quit Clinton

An ardent group of local Hillary supporters still think their candidate has a shot.

Voters Want Choices. And They Want to Be Heard.

That's why Ranked Choice Voting makes so much sense.

Q&A With Matt Gonzalez, the Man Who Wants to be Ralph Nader's VP

"The candidates many voters are placing their hopes in are sadly not likely to achieve anything close to their rhetoric."

Can Taxpayer-Funded Political Campaigns Even the Scale?

As always, Seattle is looking to match the progressive ideals of Portland. But the plan doesn’t look as pretty up close.

Electoral Methods Are Under the Microscope

It's not that Washington voters want a nonpartisan system, they just don't want the partisan system we have now.

Why Do We Still Have Caucuses?

Regular voters still don't know how they work.

Why Our Caucuses Should Be Done Over the Internet

The political activist, and former bassist for Nirvana, blogs every week on the Daily Weekly.

Initiative 25 Has the County’s Democrats Lining Up to Oppose . . . More Democracy

Supporters want voters to decide in November if King County's director of elections should remain an appointed position.

Promoting Rock Music and the Single Transferable Vote

Krist Novoselic's column runs every Tuesday on the Daily Weekly.In a previous life, I promoted new records full time. It used to be that the marketing of my latest labor of love meant spending months in a van or bus, interviews with journalists, and plenty of waiting around until I hit the stage. I ... More >>

I Was Against It Before I Was for It: At Halfway Point, R-71 Looks Likely to Make Ballot

The Secretary of State celebrates a job half-done.​At a little over two weeks since it began counting signatures for Referendum 71--the anti-gay referendum to limit domestic partnership rights--the Secretary of State's office is almost 50% done. Unless they seriously pick up the pace, the coun ... More >>

What's Math When You've Got Bigotry?

2 2 = homosexual conspiracy!​If it seems like the process of counting the valid signatures Referendum 71 petitions has taken forever, that's because it has. (R-71 would subject the legislature's expansion of domestic partnership benefits to a public vote.) With most referendums and initiativ ... More >>

Was Jordan Royer a Victim of Anti-Nickels Sentiment?

Maybe he should have gone for a Peter move and denied knowing his father.​Charles Royer, Seattle's only three-term mayor, was welcomed into his final four years with open arms by voters. Like Nickels, he faced a broad swath of challengers in 1985 when running for his final term. But in the fie ... More >>

It's No Group Hug, But Constantine Gets the Nod From Former Rivals

Constantine's more affectionate supporters Dave Meinert and Christine Gregoire got company from his former rivals.​They didn't have a hand-holding press conference or anything, but former King County Executive candidates Fred Jarrett, Larry Phillips and Ross Hunter all officially endorsed Dow ... More >>

Another Day, Another Day in Court for R-71

WAFST doesn't want anyone getting confused on how to vote.​It hasn't even made the ballot yet--in fact, it still might not make the ballot--but R-71's been spending more time in court than Perry Mason. Last week saw a federal hearing over the release of the names of signers (the judge authoriz ... More >>

Is the Election Debate Any Better Without the Incumbent Mayor on the Ballot?

Justin Dylan Renney/Krist NovoselicKrist Novoselic's column on music and politics runs every Tuesday on the Daily Weekly. He writes his latest vinyl finds every Friday on Reverb.​I had a great time at the music-community candidate fundraiser last week at the Crocodile. The Maldives rocked, and ... More >>

Election 2009 Recap: You Can't Always Get What You Want

Asher HersheyRocking For The Vote with The Presidents, Crocodile Cafe, September 2009. Krist Novoselic's column runs every Tuesday on the Daily Weekly. Read about what he's listening to every Friday on Reverb.​Young voters managed to shake things up again this year--most notably in Seattle's m ... More >>

Down on the Farm

The Humane Society and big agriculture slug it out over animal rights.

In First for the State, Costco Will Use Its Own Stores and Employees to Get Liquor Initiative on the Ballot

Toilet Paper Sample Station vs. Booze Sample Station. Advantage: Booze.​Issaquah-based retail giant Costco has been trying for years to change liquor laws in Washington. It sued the state Liquor Control Board to force the state to allow high-volume buyers like itself to get discounts on wholes ... More >>

No Rock Party, But Ballots Still Provide Happiness.

Krist Novoselic writes about music and politics every Tuesday and Friday on Reverb​The period to declare candidacy for public office in our state is over. Here's the Rock Party update for election 2010: no candidates running in Washington state. I could have paid the $1,740.00 and filed to run ... More >>

Primary 2010: Long Shots In Legislature and King County Races Vow They'll Be Back Next Year

​Geoffrey "Mac" McElroy and Tim Fahey might not have made it to the general election in tonight's primary, but they both vowed to be back in a set of stirring speeches that included Fahey singing a mournful Irish ballad in a shockingly impressive baritone.

The 2010 Primary's Best Campaign Lowlights

​Geoffrey "Mac" McElroy and Tim Fahey might not have made it to the general election in tonight's primary, but they both vowed to be back in a set of stirring speeches that included Fahey singing a mournful Irish ballad in a shockingly impressive baritone.

U.S. Senate Control Could Come Down to King County Vote

​If the New York Times is right and "Washington is the new Florida" in terms of importance to U.S. Senate control, then King County may be the new Miami-Dade, says a new post on Publicola. Republicans are expected to pick up seats in North Dakota, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Arkansas, I ... More >>

King County Shatters Mid-Term Voting Record With 71 Percent Turnout

​It's official, King County residents, ya'll are some votin' ass motherfuckers. Election officials are now saying they received around 762,000 ballots in Tuesday's election--that's a whopping 71 percent turnout. Earlier in the week King County Elections Director Sherril Huff had forecasted a 6 ... More >>

Fantasy Voter Fraud

How do you frighten voters into believing undocumented immigrants can steal elections, even though there's no such evidence?

Medical Marijuana Follies: Steve Sarich Finds that Even Filing a Referendum is a Messy Business

​It seems a fitting indication of how messed up the medical marijuana landscape has become that even a referendum filed yesterday on Senate Bill 5073--a once liberalizing piece of legislation that was utterly transformed by the governor's red pen--says the opposite of what was intended. Dispen ... More >>

Gay Marriage Opponents Bank on Referendums To Stop It -- But Is That Wishful Thinking?

​The gay marriage opposition led by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) believe that the best course of action in derailing same-sex weddings is to mobilize like-minded detractors, fund expensive ad campaigns, and fight like hell to get the issue on the ballot -- here in Washington an ... More >>

Breaking News: California's Gay-Marriage Ban Ruled Unconstitutional

​A three-member panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has just ruled that California's ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional. The federal court said the state cannot prevent gay couples from marrying just because a majority of voters said so. The 2-1 decision is a huge victory for gay-ri ... More >>