Kim Wyman Wants King County To Postpone Free Ballot Mailing

SEATTLE, WA - Secretary of State Kim Wyman wants King County to slow down legislation that would allow voters to mail ballots for free. Why? Wyman, a Republican, says she wants the entire state to do it all at once.

County Councilman Dave Upthegrove, who represents Kent and Renton, is proposing to spend about $381,000 per election to prepay postage for all county residents. In early 2017, the county piloted prepaid ballots for special elections in Shoreline and Maple Valley - and the turnout in those elections increased by some 10 percentage points.

Wyman told the Council prepaid ballots should be implemented statewide because, “This decision should not be made in a vacuum because the impacts [don’t happen] in a vacuum," according to the news site The C is for Crank.

The Council agreed to hold off on voting on the measure until next week, but the measure has broad support and was co-sponsored by Council members Rod Dembowski, Claudia Balducci, Joe McDermott, Jeanne Kohl-Welles, and Larry Gossett. The Council Budget and Fiscal Management Committee has recommended that the measure be passed (the most conservative member of that committee, Kathy Lambert, was not present for the vote).

Read more about the legislation 2018-0183, including how much it would cost per city, at the County Council website.

Image via Secretary of State