South County ballots will have elections for two Congressional seats

Published 10:01 pm Monday, April 2, 2012

All South County ballots will have elections in two Congressional districts in the August primary and November general election.

One will be for the last few weeks of the vacant seat in the old 1st Congressional District, the position left vacant by the resignation of Congressman Jay Inslee.

The other will be for a full two-year term in our new districts – the 2nd District for Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace and Brier, the 7th District for Edmonds and Woodway.

Gov. Christine Gregoire called the special election for Inslee’s seat, saying that she wants the district and the state to have full representation in a December lame-duck session.

We can fill the seat for the short term in the old 1st District only with an election in the old district.

A state elections co-director, Katie Blinn, said Monday that the state could hold the short-term election at the same time as the full-term elections in the new districts without a change in state law.

The person elected in the special election will hold office from Dec. 6, when the state certifies results of the Nov. 6 general election, until the new Congress convenes Jan. 7.

The seat will be vacant until December.

It has been vacant since Inslee resigned last month to pursue election for governor.

The old district can’t hold a special election before November without a change in state law.

Some of the candidates in the special election may not live in the old district.

That’s because the only residency requirement is living in the state.

Evan Smith can be reached at schsmith@frontier.com.