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Jay Inslee hits the big stage (or at least its edges)

How’d our guv do on the national stage? How will you sign up to cast your vote? What does it mean that citizenship status is off the census (for now)? And how much does your vote matter now that partisan gerrymandering is fair game? And lastly: before Lil Nas X was generating controversy in country music, there was Patrick Haggerty.


Inslee debate performance review

Jay Inslee may have only gotten 5 minutes of speaking time in last night’s Democratic presidential debate, but we are here to make up for that with 19 minutes of reviewing his performance. Ron Sims and Rob McKenna are both former King County Councilors and gubernatorial candidates (in McKenna’s case, against Inslee himself).

King County voter registration

You may have noticed a difference in the voter registration process this year. What does it mean, and how will it affect your voting process? For more on that – and an unpopular opinion on advisory votes – we spoke to King County Elections Director Julie Wise.

Bob Ferguson on citizenship census question

The Supreme Court’s decision is in: the 2020 census will not ask about your citizenship status. The Trump administration’s first response was to suggest a delay in the census. If that happens, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson is likely to once again lead the charge in suing the government about it. Ferguson, who was part of the multi-state lawsuit to keep the question off the census, explained what it means for the state.

Partisan gerrymandering in WA

The other big SCOTUS decision had to do with partisan gerrymandering – and on that, the court punted. DJ Wilson is the publisher of the Washington State Wire, and explained how even in Washington, gerrymandering favors the Republican Party.

Lavender Country

In 1973, Patrick Haggerty released what he believes to be the first gay-themed country music album. It was called Blackberry Rose, sung by Haggerty’s band Lavender Country. We spoke to him and Seattle DJ Shan Ottey, who had her broadcasting license revoked by the FCC for playing a song whose title would likely still be bleeped today.

Why you can trust KUOW