A bill proposes moving the date of city general elections from odd years to even years to coincide with state and federal general elections.

HB 2529, sponsored by Rep. Mia Gregerson (D–SeaTac), raises concerns impacting cities and elected officials, including:

• Crowded ballots: Including city elections on general election ballots will force city elected positions and city initiatives close to the bottom of ballots. This could have a negative impact on the number of people voting on local issues.
• Inability for elected officials to run for other offices: Current laws prohibit an individual from appearing twice on the same ballot for elected offices. It is not uncommon to have city councilmembers run for county, state, or other elected positions in off years. This allows them to run for office without vacating their seat. As the bill is written, there are no provisions for this issue.

There are, however, potential benefits to this bill. It could reduce election costs to cities as those costs would be spread across multiple entities. The other benefit could be an increase in voter participation. Since the year 2000, even-year general elections have seen an average of 25% more voter participation than odd-year general elections.

We will continue to monitor this bill and provide updates as more information becomes available.

Dates to remember

This bill is scheduled for public hearing in the House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee at 1:30 pm on Wednesday, January 22.