Greetings from Olympia! We’ve arrived at April, when the focus of state government turns to implementing the laws passed by the Legislature during the 2018 session. I’m excited about a series of changes to state elections law that will make it easier for Washington citizens to register and vote. Improving access to elections while keeping the voting process safe and secure is an essential mission for our office. The arrival of the year’s second special election on April 24 is a good reminder of the importance of voter registration and participation to keeping our democratic process healthy.

It’s also springtime, which has brought dazzling floral displays to our Capital Campus and across much of the state. I had the pleasure of seeing the beautiful colors of blossoming tulips and daffodils in the Skagit Valley in late March, and the cherry trees outside the Capitol are putting on their stunning annual display.

I always look forward to welcoming visitors to the Capitol, especially while the Capitol gardens are in bloom. If you’re in Olympia, please also consider a visit to our office in the Legislative Building to check out the Legacy Washington exhibit Korea 65: The Forgotten War Remembered in our lobby.

Thanks for your time and interest in our office. Please forward this message to anyone you think might be interested in reading it and encourage them to subscribe. You can also follow our office on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

As always, thank you for the privilege of serving as your Secretary of State. 

Sincerely,
 

NEW ELECTIONS LAWS SIGNED

On March 19th, I attended the signing of four elections bills into law at Foster High School in Tukwila. I was joined by the governor, a host of members of the Legislature, and dozens of election officials.

The signing ceremony took place before an audience of hundreds of students at one of America’s most diverse high schools. One of these new laws will enable students at the age of 16 and 17 to enroll as “future voters” and encourage high-school teachers to hold civic education events each year on Temperance and Good Citizenship Day in mid-January.

Along with the Future Voters program, the signings of the automatic voter registration bill, election day registration bill, and the Washington Voting Rights Act will have significant effects on how our Elections team – and auditors and officials statewide – handle elections-related tasks.

TALKING ELECTIONS ON KING 5’S NEW DAY NW

I traveled to Seattle for an appearance on KING-5’s New Day Northwest with Margaret Larson on March 8th. We talked about secure elections and how voters can help make sure their ballots are properly counted, and all of it was in front of a live studio audience! You can watch the entire segment here.

WTBBL HOSTS REGIONAL BRAILLE CHALLENGE

Our Washington Talking Book & Braille Library team deserve major kudos for their work hosting so many activities in their beautiful Seattle building, which turns 80 later this year.

For National Library Week this month, WTBBL will host daily activities from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. April 9-13, including a special performance of Seussical the Musical and a visit from author Robert Dugoni. You can see the full schedule here.

WTTBL also hosted the the annual Regional Braille Challenge for students from grades 1-12 Saturday, March 3rd. 

Students from all over Western Washington met at the library in Seattle to compete in braille events including spelling, reading comprehension, and speed and accuracy.

The busy day also featured a chance for fun with a presentation and demonstration by the Seattle South King Sluggers Beep Baseball team. WTBBL Director and Regional Librarian Danielle Miller even took a turn trying her skills swinging the Beep Baseball bat!

A SPECIAL CELEBRATION AT ARCHIVES’ PUGET SOUND BRANCH

On March 27th, I traveled to Bellevue to celebrate of the 20th anniversary of the Pritchard-Fleming Building, which houses the Puget Sound Branch of our Archives. The building was a joint project with Bellevue College as part of Secretary Ralph Munro’s visionary plan to get Archives branches onto college campuses across the state.

I was proud to join Archives Director Steve Excell, Regional Archivist Mike Saunders, and former Bellevue College President Jean Floten. They all spoke movingly about the lasting significance of this building. The crowd was overflowing with more than 60 staffers, research patrons, and other friends of Archives — including Jeffrey Pritchard, nephew of building namesake Lt. Gov. Joel Pritchard.

NATIONAL ELECTION AWARD FOR OUR POSTAL TASK FORCE

At the quarterly meeting of the Elections Postal Task Force, held at the King County Elections office March 1st, Lori Augino presented the Election Center State Award she accepted at February’s meeting of the National Association of State Election Directors.

Our certification and training manager, Sheryl Moss, created the Postal Task Force to bring the election community and the USPS together regularly to discuss and solve election mailing issues. Members of the task force include USPS officials for Washington State, representatives of our county auditors, mailing vendors to provide technical insight, and a representative formerly of the Bipartisan Policy Center to provide a national perspective.

Sheryl chairs the Task Force and ensures the meetings cover relevant subjects. The group’s goals have been to build a partnership between the USPS and election administrators, improve our understanding of each partner’s role in mail elections, create a single body for local county auditors to seek solutions for mailing issues, educate USPS on issues specifically related to ballots, and educate county election administrators about new USPS procedures.

I am so proud of Sheryl and the entire Postal Task Force team. Great work!

A VISIT FROM THE USS OLYMPIA LEADERSHIP

The 90-sailor crew of the USS Olympia submarine visited the Capitol March 19th, and I was privileged to host the submarine’s leadership team for a conversation in my office.

The nuclear submarine was the second ship in the U.S. Navy named after Washington’s state capital, and the crew has made occasional visits to our city over the Olympia’s three decades of service. Down the street, Olympia City Hall displayed a 29-piece collection of beautiful silver showpieces from the official silver service presented to the original USS Olympia in 1899 to mark the occasion.