Sen. Kirk Pearson (R-39) sponsored Senate Bill 5472, which would require more ballot boxes to be installed around the state.

Sen. Kirk Pearson (R-39) sponsored Senate Bill 5472, which would require more ballot boxes to be installed around the state.

Dems happy over GOP-sponsored bill to increase ballot boxes

OLYMPIA — In the stack of bills awaiting Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee’s signature is what one supporter described as the “most progressive democracy measure” emerging from the Legislature this year.

This legislation would require at least 250 more ballot drop boxes be installed around the state. Voter turnout will presumably rise when more people in little towns and big cities get better access to a metal enclosure where they can return their ballots postage free.

Democrats are happy as they view higher turnout as a prerequisite for winning elections. They calculate this looming change could help solidify their party’s influence in urban areas, where more Democrats reside, as well as its grip on the governor’s mansion, which has been under Democrat control since the 1980s. A coalition of progressive groups and statewide labor unions wrote Inslee to urge the governor to sign Senate Bill 5472.

How ironic then that the bill’s sponsor is a conservative Republican senator who was one of the state’s first lawmakers to get on the political train carrying Donald Trump to the White House.

Sen. Kirk Pearson, of Monroe, doesn’t view his bill as fomenting progressivism. Never has. For him it’s always been about giving his constituents in Granite Falls and other out-of-the-way communities in the state an easier way to return their ballots.

“I just wanted better access to everybody,” he said Tuesday, recalling a time when every precinct had a polling place. “I do not think it will favor one party over another. Everybody wins.”

The bill, which Inslee is expected to sign soon, requires at least one ballot drop box for every 15,000 registered voters in a county and a minimum of one box in each city, town, and census-designated place with a post office. It works out to at least 250 additional drop boxes in Washington.

Snohomish County, which has 12 permanent drop boxes and roughly 455,000 registered voters, will need to install 20 more.

It means Sultan, Granite Falls, Gold Bar, Startup, Darrington, Index, Mountlake Terrace, Mill Creek, Brier and Woodway are getting at least one drop box for certain. A couple more could be added in Everett, Marysville and Lynnwood to help meet the 1 per 15,000 registered voters mandate.

King County elections officials estimate 41 to 43 new boxes are required to comply. There are 18 communities in line to get their first, including Mercer Island, Medina, Kenmore, Woodinville, Tukwila, North Bend and Skykomish.

Where to put the other 25 is to be determined. Certainly Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Kent and Federal Way are possibilities given their number of registered voters. It is awfully hard to imagine Seattle not getting a couple more, too, an outcome one must presume favors Democratic candidates.

Pearson’s bill takes effect 90 days after its signing. That means many new boxes should be in place for this fall’s election, with all of them in place by next year’s contests for legislative and federal offices, and statewide initiatives.

It’s not possible to predict whether any party will benefit more. But considering the political math involved it’s easy to see why some Democratic interests are salivating.

In the town of Index, 101 of the 114 registered voters cast ballots in the presidential election. If having a box would have increased turnout by 5 percent it would have meant another six votes cast. In Skykomish, 99 of its 133 registered voters cast ballots last fall without a box. Put one in, boost participation and the total would climb 7 votes.

In Granite Falls, 1,307 of its 1,919 registered voters took part in November with a majority backing Trump. Add 5 percent, you’d have had another 96 votes cast with more than half going for the president. Three communities, three boxes and maybe 110 additional votes in a presidential election, assuming a good increase in voter turnout.

Now, what about Seattle, where there were 460,927 registered voters in November with most voting against Trump, for Inslee and for Sound Transit 3. If adding one box magically increased turnout in the city by 5 percent, another 23,046 ballots would have been cast.

To their credit, Pearson and Rep. Zack Hudgins, D-Tukwila, argued for democracy, not Democrats, in their April 7 letter to Inslee urging him to sign the bill.

“Elections are one of the most important things we do in government,” they wrote. “In order to show our voters that their elected officials care about their vote, we need to make it easy for them to cast one.”

Political reporter Jerry Cornfield’s blog, The Petri Dish, is at www.heraldnet.com. Contact him at 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dospueblos.

Talk to us

More in Local News

Marysville firefighters respond to a 12-year-old boy who fell down a well Tuesday May 30, 2023 in Marysville, Washington. (Photo provided by Marysville Fire District)
Marysville firefighters save boy who fell 20 feet into well

The 12-year-old child held himself up by grabbing on to a plastic pipe while firefighters worked to save him.

Highway 9 is set to be closed in both directions for a week as construction crews build a roundabout at the intersection with Vernon Road. (Washington State Department of Transportation)
Weeklong closure coming to Highway 9 section in Lake Stevens

Travelers should expect delays or find another way from Friday to Thursday between Highway 204 and Lundeen Parkway.

Students arriving off the bus get in line to score some waffles during a free pancake and waffle breakfast at Lowell Elementary School on Friday, May 26, 2023, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
800 free pancakes at Everett’s Lowell Elementary feed the masses

The annual breakfast was started to connect the community and the school, as well as to get people to interact.

Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring speaks at the groundbreaking event for the I-5/SR 529 Interchange project on Tuesday, May 23, 2023 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
$123M project starting on Highway 529 interchange, I-5 HOV lane

A reader wondered why the highway had a lane closure despite not seeing work done. Crews were waiting on the weather.

Justin Bell was convicted earlier this month of first-degree assault for a December 2017 shooting outside a Value Village in Everett. (Caleb Hutton / Herald file)
Court: Snohomish County jurors’ opaque masks didn’t taint verdict

During the pandemic, Justin Bell, 32, went on trial for a shooting. Bell claims his right to an impartial jury was violated.

Gary Fontes uprights a tree that fell over in front of The Fontes Manor — a miniature handmade bed and breakfast — on Friday, May 12, 2023, at his home near Silver Lake in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett’s mini-Frank Lloyd Wright builds neighborhood of extra tiny homes

A tiny lighthouse, a spooky mansion and more: Gary Fontes’ miniature world of architectural wonders is one-twelfth the size of real life.

Will Steffener
Inslee appoints Steffener as Superior Court judge

Attorney Will Steffener will replace Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Janice Ellis, who is retiring in June.

Mountlake Terrace Library, part of the Sno-Isle Libraries, in Mountlake Terrace, Washington on Thursday, June 1, 2023. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Sno-Isle workers cite safety, unfilled positions in union push

Workers also pointed to inconsistent policies and a lack of a say in decision-making. Leadership says they’ve been listening.

A view over the Port of Everett Marina looking toward the southern Whidbey Island fault zone in March 2021. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Snohomish County agencies to simulate major disaster

The scenario will practice the response to an earthquake or tsunami. Dozens of agencies will work with pilots.

Most Read