That Washington
Special Election for Inslee's Seat?
State election officials are considering a special election to fill the 1st District US House seat that will be vacated March 20 by Jay Inslee, who is running for governor as a Democrat.
According to a press release from the state secretary of state's office,
Confused yet? Us too. The upshot, though, is that a new 1st District representative could end up serving the (old) district for as little as one month---from December 6, when the election is certified, to the end of the year. However, candidates running in the short-term race (seven have declared) can simultaneously run for the long-term position---even if, under the radically redrawn boundaries of the new 1st District, their homes are no longer in the district.
"You can live within the bounds of any congressional district in Washington" and run for Congress in any district, says Dave Ammons, the spokesman for the secretary of state's office. "That's a little-known fact that's set in the US Constitution [So] as many as have announced [they're running] can file can run for both the short-term and the long-term election."
However, the electorate would be very different. According to the state redistricting commission, of the 739,455 people in the old district, fewer than 44 percent now live in the newly drawn 1st. "Said a different way, of the 672,444 people who are in the new 1st District, 48 percent are from the old 1st," the secretary of state's statement says. Those who live in both the old and the new 1st District would have two options on their ballot---a short-term and a long-term representative---while those who live only in the old 1st would only get the short-term option.
"That was one of the biggest changes in Western Washington," Ammons says.
The other option, Ammons says, would be to run the election for the full new term in the new 1st District, with the winner taking office Jan. 3. More straightforward, but far less interesting.
According to a press release from the state secretary of state's office,
Katie Blinn, state elections co-director, said U.S. House officials say that an interim member would need to be elected by the same voters who elected Inslee to his two-year term. The winner could take office after the election is certified on Dec. 6. Meanwhile, voters in the newly redrawn 1st District would be choosing the winner of the full term. The list of candidates, currently six Democrats, one Republican and an independent, could be the same for both the short term and the long term.
Confused yet? Us too. The upshot, though, is that a new 1st District representative could end up serving the (old) district for as little as one month---from December 6, when the election is certified, to the end of the year. However, candidates running in the short-term race (seven have declared) can simultaneously run for the long-term position---even if, under the radically redrawn boundaries of the new 1st District, their homes are no longer in the district.
"You can live within the bounds of any congressional district in Washington" and run for Congress in any district, says Dave Ammons, the spokesman for the secretary of state's office. "That's a little-known fact that's set in the US Constitution [So] as many as have announced [they're running] can file can run for both the short-term and the long-term election."
However, the electorate would be very different. According to the state redistricting commission, of the 739,455 people in the old district, fewer than 44 percent now live in the newly drawn 1st. "Said a different way, of the 672,444 people who are in the new 1st District, 48 percent are from the old 1st," the secretary of state's statement says. Those who live in both the old and the new 1st District would have two options on their ballot---a short-term and a long-term representative---while those who live only in the old 1st would only get the short-term option.
"That was one of the biggest changes in Western Washington," Ammons says.
The other option, Ammons says, would be to run the election for the full new term in the new 1st District, with the winner taking office Jan. 3. More straightforward, but far less interesting.
