Candidate filing starts Monday

By Evan Smith

Candidates start filing Monday for positions on the Aug. 5 primary and Nov. 4 general-election ballots.

Candidates file on line or in person at either the King County elections office in Renton or the secretary of state’s office in Olympia Monday, May 12 through Friday, May 16.

On-line filing and in-person filing are essentially the same because, when candidates come in to file, elections officials direct them to a computer connected to the state or county elections web site.

Candidates for county and local offices and for legislative positions in districts lying entirely within the county file through the county elections office. Candidates for congress, for statewide offices and for legislative districts that cross county lines file with the secretary of state.

Local ballots will include the State Senate positions now held by Maralyn Chase in the 32nd Legislative District and David Frockt in the 46th District; the State House of Representatives positions held by Ruth Kagi and Cindy Ryu in the 32nd District, and by Jessyn Farrell and Gerry Pollet in the 46th District, and the Shoreline District Court positions now held by Marcine Anderson and Douglas J. Smith.

Candidates for Democratic and Republican precinct committee officer also file during the Monday-through-Friday period.

Elections officials have offered candidates the chance to file by mail since April 28.

A county elections official said a few weeks ago that candidates who filed early by mail get no advantage since officials don’t open their filing material until the official filing period starts.

The official said that candidates who file on line have control of their information, something that mail candidates lose because someone else enters it into the computer system.

Elections officials hold the lot draw that determines ballot order right after filing ends Friday afternoon.

Candidates can withdraw their names from the ballot through May 19. Candidates who withdraw don’t get their filing fees back. A candidate who withdraws from one position and files for another loses the first filing fee.

Candidates can file as registered write-in candidates for the primary May 19 through July 18 and for the general election May 19 through Oct. 17.

A registered write-in candidate has his or her votes counted even with minor misspellings or a missing or erroneous party preference. Registered write-in candidates pay the same fee as candidates who register for ballot position – 1 percent of the position’s annual salary.

In 2012, a candidate registered as a write-in candidate against an otherwise unopposed incumbent in a nearby legislative district, and, by placing second in the primary with at least 1 percent of votes cast for the position, qualified for the general-election ballot as a Republican challenger to the Democratic incumbent.

Evan Smith can be reached at schsmith@frontier.com.