King County councilmember makes case for moving elections to even years

The King County Council’s Committee of the Whole voted 7-2 on Wednesday to approve a charter amendment that would move a number of local elections to even-numbered years.

The move means elections for county executive, county assessor, county director of elections, and county councilmembers would move from odd to even-numbered years.

The amendment will go to the full county council for approval at a June 28 meeting. If approved there, the proposal will go to voters on the ballot in November.

“I am committed to making our elections as fair and accessible as possible, and the data is clear that voter turnout during odd-year elections is dramatically lower than even-year elections, meaning many voters have no voice in who represents them in key offices,” said Councilmember Claudia Balducci, who introduced the proposal. “Moving county races to even years means we’re welcoming participation by more voters and more diverse voters—younger people, people of color, renters.”

Since 2010, King County’s average voter turnout rate is 77% in even-numbered years compared to 47% in odd-numbered years, according to Balducci.

Earlier this month, KIRO 7 reported on the council’s debate over the proposal. Some councilmembers expressed concern that local races would get less attention if they were put alongside major national races, but the vast majority of public comments favored even-numbered year voting.

Councilmember Reagun Dunn was one who was vocal in his opposition to the proposal.

“Asking voters to consider local and national elections in the same year is completely misguided and would surely allow the drama and partisanship of national politics to drown out the local, nuts-and-bolts issues that are integral to our daily lives,” Dunn said in a statement.

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