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Spokane County to Publish First Voters Guide in Over a Decade

Rebecca White/SPR

Spokane County will soon publish its first local voters guide in more than a decade.

That guide will include both for, and against sections for several local tax levies, a section the county auditor’s office says it needs volunteers to finish.

Two Washington state laws passed in 2020 that go into effect this year require counties to make printed voters' guides, and provide counties the means to pay for them.

“A printed voters guide is one of the things that voters have asked for frequently, and we just weren’t able financially to provide it.”

That’s Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton. The state sends voters' guides in years when there are statewide and legislative races. This year, when Spokane County residents get their ballots in August, she says they can also expect their first local voters guide since the Great Recession in 2008. It will have detailed information on every candidate from Spokane City Council to water districts.

It will also have a for, and against section on three fire district levies, if the county can find enough volunteers to write them.

“For the counties that have been doing printed voters pamphlet for quite a few years, it is not unusual for measures to not have statements, either for, or against. It’s quite difficult to get people to serve on these committees to write the statements.”

Dalton said the volunteers would need to come from Fire Districts 3, 4 and 8 in unincorporated Spokane County. The county mostly need people willing to write statements in opposition to the levies. They have until Friday, May 21st to contact the auditor’s office to participate.

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