Elections 2012

Democratic Party activists in the state of Washington were in high gear this weekend conducting a massive get-out-the-vote campaign. Hundreds of volunteers manned phone banks and fanned out across neighborhoods to encourage people who hadn’t voted to turn in their ballots.

If Initiative 1240 passes, public school funding would finance each charter school created under the law.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – New polls show Washington’s open race for governor remains close. Already hundreds of thousands of Washington voters have returned their ballots. Many more will do so in the coming days. But county auditors have a warning to voters who wait until the last minute.

In Oregon you have to have your ballot in by 8pm on Election night. But in Washington you just have to have your ballot postmarked. That means for days after the election ballots keep on rolling in and they get counted -– unless the postmark is past the due date.

We speak with Karen Porterfield, candidate for Congress in Washington's 8th District, and Priya Guha, Britain's top diplomat in the Northwest. Plus, we hear live music from members of the award-winning Roosevelt High School Jazz Band and get a weekend weather forecast from Nick Bond.

A newly released poll of likely Washington voters indicates that the race for governor is virtually tied with Democrat Jay Inslee slightly ahead.

The latest TV ad from same-sex marriage opponents in Washington focuses on school children, warning “schools could teach that boys could marry boys.”

The ad mirrors those that ran in other states when gay marriage came up for a vote, notably when Prop 8 was on California’s 2008 ballot. Campaign strategists on both sides agree the “schools ad" has been a game changer.

Last week we invited six members of our source community, KUOW’S Public Insight Network, to our studios in the University District to talk politics. We had a range of views including a self-described Socialist-Independent, a fiscal conservative, a right-leaning Democrat among others. Ross Reynolds sat down with Rob Franco, Rick Wear, Pam Okano, George Robertson, Reena Koshy and Linda Carlson and discussed federal and state issues.

Last week we invited six members of our source community, KUOW’S Public Insight Network, to our studios in the University District to talk politics. We had a range of views including a self-described Socialist-Independent, a fiscal conservative, a right-leaning Democrat among others. Ross Reynolds sat down with Rob Franco, Rick Wear, Pam Okano, George Robertson, Reena Koshy and Linda Carlson and discussed federal and state issues. 

Earlier this year, Washington state Governor Chris Gregoire signed a bill allowing marriage rights for same-sex couples. Opponents gathered enough signatures to force a public referendum, and the law was put on hold. Now, it's up to voters to decide. If Referendum 74 is approved, Washington state will be the first in the country to uphold gay marriage at the ballot box. Should same-sex couples have the same rights to marry as straight couples? Author and civic entrepreneur Eric Liu and Preserve Marriage Washington spokesman Chip White join us.

What if there was a crystal ball that could reveal the outcome of an election? Turns out modern day campaigns use forecast models to project the winner of a race long before a single vote is counted.

In vote-by-mail states like Washington or Oregon, political parties and campaigns have an advantage. They can find out on a daily basis if you’ve returned your ballot.