Last week, a lawsuit was filed in Washington Supreme Court that alleges the secrecy of ballots is compromised by the bar codes that some counties use.

Their claim: The companies who track the ballots can use the data to find out how exactly how you voted, which is illegal.

The Secretary of State’s Office, however, said that’s bogus: They compared it to tracking numbers on packages that allow people to make sure the package is en route, but not decipher what’s inside the box.

The Supreme Court hasn’t yet decided whether they’ll take the case. Brad Shannon has some great reporting on the issue here, and here’s a story by The Daily World.

Tags: voting

No more wells can be dug in upper Kittitas County, according to a ruling by the Department of Ecology today. Some Eastern Washington lawmakers are upset.

The Department of Ecology said in a release that it tried for two years to negotiate with Kittitas County Board of Commissioners to “limit the uncontrolled proliferation of so-called ‘exempt groundwater wells’ in Upper Kittitas County.” But it didn’t work to their approval, so today they issued the ban.

From the release: “Since 1998, nearly 3,000 wells have been drilled in Kittitas County, prompting concerns that groundwater pumping in the headwaters region of the county threatens senior water users and streamflows in the Yakima Basin. A number of parties, including the citizens group Aqua Permanente, the Yakama Nation, and the city of Roslyn, have asked that Ecology close the groundwater to further appropriation while a groundwater study is completed.”

But Sen. Janea Holmquist sent out a release saying the decision would kill jobs. “At a time when every job counts and our state is facing yet another deficit, Ecology is effectively bankrupting the building industry in upper Kittitas County, issuing pink slips to its workers, and sending economic shockwaves through a county that is already suffering from economic hardship,” she said.

And Rep. Bill Hinkle said the department was overstepping its bounds.

Taxable retail sales in Washington dropped nearly 13 percent from the first quarter of 2008 to the same period in 2009, according to the Department of Revenue. They released the figures today.

The 12.8 percent drop means $23.2 billion fewer taxable sales for the first three months of this year.

Here’s the breakdown:
“Among the largest industries, retail sales from construction dropped 20.4 percent to $4.3 billion; motor vehicle and parts dropped 23.3 percent to $2.1 billion; accommodations and food services dropped 5.1 percent to $2.4 billion; general merchandise stores declined 0.9 percent to $1.5 billion, the retail component of wholesale trade declined 18.3 percent to $1.8 billion, miscellaneous retailers dropped 12.2 percent to $1.3 billion, information services dropped 0.7 percent to $1.2 billion, and building materials, garden equipment and supplies dropped 21.2 percent to $851 million.”

It looks like Clark and King counties were hit especially hard. Go here for the detailed county-by-county charts.

Tags: revenue

Just a day after announcing federal stimulus funding for Washington — at $750,000 — things have changed, according to the Everett Herald and the Associated Press .

We’ll now get about 10 times as much as originally announced — $7.6 million more. Go here to read the full story.

The distinction, from a story by Rachel La Corte at The Associated Press: The money isn’t “stimulus” money — just federal funding. Sen. Patty Murray told the AP it didn’t matter either way, as long as the ferries get funding.

Update: Gov. Chris Gregoire sent out this statement: “This is great news for Washington state and our ferry system. I thank Senator Murray for her leadership and determination to secure this funding. Washington, with the nation’s largest ferry system, has now received the most federal recovery funds for ferries, as it should.”

Tags: ferries

Secretary of State Sam Reed has announced that Tim Eyman’s latest initiative, I-1033, has officially made the ballot.

The Secretary of State’s release indicated that Eyman’s initiative would be the only citizen initiative on the ballot. Referendum 71 supporters have until July 25, but told the office they were “scrambling,” according to the release.

“Over the weekend, sponsors said they have at least 75,000 signatures on hand. It takes 120,577 valid signatures to qualify a referendum for the ballot, but the state Elections Division suggests sponsors try to turn in about 150,000, to cover invalid or duplicate signatures, which can run 20 percent or more,” according to the release.

Stay tuned on R71.

In the meantime, Initiative 1033 limits growth in state, county and city government revenues, and directs that any revenue collected over that amount be reflected in lower property taxes. Limits on revenue would be adjusted annually for inflation and population growth.

Find the entire text — along with all the other initiatives filed this year — here.

Tags: initiatives

The Secretary of State’s office — via their blog, From Our Corner — is reminding everyone that it’s time to register to vote or update your voter registration if you want to vote in the primaries.

Technically, you have until Sat., July 18 — this Saturday. Go here to do it online.

Tags: vote

Washington state has the largest ferry system in the nation, yet didn’t get much in the way of federal stimulus money for ferries, reports Jerry Cornfield.

“Washington’s Department of Transportation submitted 11 requests totaling about $56 million, of which two came from its ferry system. One was for $26 million to replace the Anacortes terminal and the other for $9 million to refurbish the Hyak.” What did the state get? Less than $1 million, while Detroit and the Virgin Islands got more.

Read the whole thing here.
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