Last-minute Tri-Cities voter guide 2019: What you need to know
Tuesday is election day and the deadline to vote on a long list of city council, school board, port commission and other nonpartisan races.
Voters also will decide the outcome of a local fire district bond and two statewide ballot propositions.
Locally, Benton County Fire District 1 residents will vote on a general obligation bond to pay for equipment.
The statewide propositions include Initiative 976, which would set car tab fees at $30 and reduce other transportation fees and taxes.
The other is Referendum 88, which will determine if Washington implements the Initiative 1000 preferential treatment regulations approved by the 2019 Legislature.
Voting
- Deadline: Ballots must be returned or postmarked by Nov. 5 to count. Putting it in the mail Tuesday may not be soon enough. Ballots may be dropped off at collection drop boxes or brought into county auditor’s offices in person until 8 p.m. on election day. Prepaid envelopes are provided. Sign the outside of the envelope.
- Register to vote: You can still register in person at your county auditor’s office as late as election day.
- County election offices: Benton County has three offices: 620 Market St., Prosser; 5600 W. Canal Drive, Kennewick; and 101 Wellsian Way, Ste., E, Richland. Franklin County residents can register at the county courthouse, 1016 N. Fourth Ave., Pasco. Franklin County screens all courthouse visitors for weapons.
- Drop Box locations. Ballots can be dropped off until 8 p.m. Franklin County locations are posted here and Benton County locations are posted here.
Local races
- Kennewick City Council features three races.
- Pasco City Council features three races
- Richland City Council features four races
- West Richland City Council features three races
- Kennewick School Board features three races
- Richland School Board features three races
- Pasco School Board features 3 races
- Benton County Fire District 1 bond would update equipment and living quarters.
Tri-City Herald Editorial Board recommendations
(These are opinion editorials independent of news coverage.)
- Pasco School Board (Scott Lehrman versus Donna Watts and Jesse Campos versus Steven Castellano)
- Richland School Board (Rick Donahoe versus Matthew Bishop)
- Richland School Board (Jay Clough versus Kari Williams)
- Richland School Board (Jill Oldson versus Rama Devagupta)
- Kennewick School Board (Ron Mabry versus Wende Carlisle, Pat Mastaller versus Diane Sundvik and James Langford versus Michael Connors.)
- Richland City Council (Robert J. Thompson versus Lillian Slovic and Brad Anderson versus Shir Regev)
- Richland City Council (Phillip Lemley versus Lisa Thomas)
- Richland City Council (Terry Christensen versus Kyle Palmer)
- Kennewick City Council (James Millbauer versus Russel Del Gesso)
- Kennewick City Council (Chariss Warner versus Chuck Torelli and Ed Pacheco versus Brad Beauchamp)
- Pasco City Council (David Milne versus Isaac Myhrum)
- Pasco City Council (Zahra Roach versus Patrick Guettner)
- West Richland City Council (Kate Moran versus Ken Stoker)
- Port of Kennewick Commission (V.J. Meadows versus Tom Moak)
- Port of Benton Commission (Bill O’Neil versus Roy Keck)
- Initiative 976 (restores $30 car tabs, cuts other transportation fees)
Hot topics
- Initiative 976 — The initiative would reset passenger car tab fees to $30 and repeal the ability of about 60 cities to levy additional fees. Richland’s $20 car tab fee would be eliminated.
- Referendum 88 — The state’s voters will decide if Initiative 1000, adopted by the 2019 Legislature, will become law. The initiative codifies laws governing preferential treatment based on gender, ethnicity, color, race of national origin.
- Benton County Fire District 1: Proposition No. 2 would authorize up to $3 million in bonds to upgrade equipment and living quarters. It would cost up to 10 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, or $20 annually for a property with a $200,000 tax assessment.
This story was originally published November 4, 2019 at 12:17 PM.