Everett, Wash.
Published: Wednesday, October 15, 2008

President, governor debate doubleheader

McCain and Obama followed by Gregoire and Rossi have their final debates tonight.

By Jerry Cornfield
Herald Writer

 Tonight, in back-to-back live televised debates, voters get a chance to hear the substance and see the style of the leading contenders for president and the two candidates for governor.

At 6 p.m., Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama are set to face-off at Hofstra University in New York. This is the last scheduled match-up of the major party presidential candidates. The 90-minute debate is planned to be shown live on most major network and cable news channels.

Then, at 8 p.m., Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire and Republican challenger Dino Rossi will hold their final scheduled debate at the KING-5 television studio in Seattle.

It's scheduled to last an hour and be televised live on KING-TV in Seattle and Northwest Cable News channels. It also will be broadcast on public radio stations including KUOW (94.9 FM) and streamed live on www.KING5.com.

The political doubleheader comes as election officials prepare to send ballots to most of the state's record 3.5 million registered voters.

Thirty-seven of 39 counties will conduct this election by mail ballot only. King and Pierce counties still have poll voting.

In Snohomish County, ballots will be mailed Thursday to the 367,755 registered voters.

Secretary of State Sam Reed is predicting turnout statewide will hit 83 percent. Snohomish County Auditor Carolyn Weikel is predicting 85 percent here.

If you've never voted before and want to cast a ballot this election, you have until Monday to register. It must be done in person at the county elections office between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays. On Saturday, the office will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to accommodate sign-ups.

The auditor's office is on the first floor of the Snohomish County Administration Building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave. in Everett.

To be eligible in Washington, a person must be a U.S. citizen and at least 18 years old by Nov. 4, lived in the state for at least 30 days and have had his or her voting rights restored if they were ever convicted of a felony.

For information on registration and voting in Snohomish County, call the elections office at 425-388-3444.



Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA