Candidate Information

2023 Important Candidate Dates

Offices Open for Election
Candidate checklist packet
Voters pamphlet Administrative rules
 

FILING PERIOD

Monday, May 15, 2023 through Friday, May 19, 2023 (RCW 29A.24.050, RCW 29A.20.200)

Candidate Lot Drawing
Open to the public as well as all candidates at 4:30pm, Friday, May 19th, 2023.

Offices Open for Filing
All Declaration of Candidacy Forms must be in the Auditors Office by 4:30 PM, May 19, 2023. Online filing closes as 4:00 PM on May 19, 2023.

If you would like to use the online filing portal please click the link below:
Online filing

Declaration of Candidacy Forms for Offices that are state wide or involve more than one county, are filed with the Secretary of State in Olympia. For more State candidate filing information go to the Secretary of State web site at www.vote.wa.gov.

To see who has filed so far click the link below:
Who's filed
SPECIAL 3-DAY FILING PERIOD

There will be a Special 3-day filing period for non-partisan offices for which no one filed during the regular filing period.  A list will appear on the Auditor website at the end of the regular filing period.  The date of the special 3-day period will be Aug 16-18, 2023 from 8:00AM – 4:30PM each day. (If needed) (RCW29A.24.171)
RESIDENCY


All candidates must be registered voters in the geographic area represented by the office. (RCW 29A.20.020).
FILING FOR MORE THAN ONE OFFICE

No candidate's name shall appear more than once upon the ballot, unless that name appears once for the office of Precinct Committee Officer, in which case the name may appear not more than twice. (RCW 29A.36.200)
FILING FEES

Each Declaration of Candidacy Form must be accompanied by the Filing Fee. The Filing Fee is 1% of the fixed annual salary at the time of filing. (Per Diem, Per meeting fee or other fee paid based on participation is not a fixed salary.) Minimum Fee is $10.00. If the office has no fixed annual salary, there will be no filing fee. A nominating petition may be submitted in lieu of the filing fee. It must contain valid signatures of registered voters of the district equal in number to the dollars of the normal filing fee.

Filing Fees are not refundable. (RCW 29A.24.130)
DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY FORMS

Declaration of Candidacy forms are available by clicking the hyperlink or in the Auditor's office.
FILING DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY BY MAIL

Filings made by mail must be received by the filing officer no earlier than ten working days before the first day for filing (May 1) nor later than the close of business on the last day of the filing period (May 20). Filings received before or after this time period, irrespective of postmark, are invalid and will be returned. (RCW 29A.24.080)
WITHDRAWAL OF CANDIDACY

Any candidate may withdraw in writing through Monday, May 22, 202. Filing fee will not be refunded. (RCW 29A.24.130)
WRITE-IN-CANDIDATES

Any person who desires to be a write-in candidate shall file a declaration of candidacy with the officer designated in RCW 29A.24.070 not later than 8:00 p.m. on the day of the primary or election. A write-in declaration of candidacy is timely if filed by this deadline. No votes shall be counted for a write-in candidate who has not properly filed a write-in declaration of candidacy. Declarations of candidacy for write-in candidates must be accompanied by a filing fee in the same manner as required of other candidates filing for the office as provided in RCW 29A.24.091.

Check with the Auditor's office for more information. (RCW 29A.24.311)
PUBLIC DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS

All necessary forms can be obtained from the Public Disclosure Web site or call the Public Disclosure Commission Office.
PDC Information packet
WSDOT Letter to Candidates

Refer requests for further information to:
Public Disclosure Commission
711 Capitol Way, Suite 206
P.O. Box 40908
Olympia, Wa 98504
(360) 753-1111
Fax (360) 753-1112
www.pdc.wa.gov
CLASSIFICATION OF DISTRICTS FOR PUBLIC DISCLOSURE FORMS
  1. Exempt from Public Disclosure
    • Cemetery District Commissioners
    • Precinct Committee Officer
  2. Districts under 1,000 registered voters.
    • Nespelem School District #14
    • Pateros School District #122-70J
    • Bridgeport School District #75
    • Grand Coulee School District #301
    • Lake Chelan School District #129
    • Curlew School District #50
    • Republic School District #309
    • City of Brewster
    • Town of Conconully
    • Town of Coulee Dam
    • Town of Elmer City
    • Town of Nespelem
    • City of Pateros
    • Town of Riverside
    • City of Tonasket
    • Town of Twisp
    • Town of Winthrop
    • Fire District #2
    • Fire District #7
    • Fire District #8
    • Fire District #9
    • Fire District #10
    • Fire District #11
    • Fire District #12
    • Fire District #13
    • Fire District #14
    • Fire District #16
    • Lake Osoyoos Water District
  3. Districts between 1,000 and 4,999 registered voters.
    • Just file the Declaration of Candidacy form. The Public Disclosure Form F-1 is also required. The F-1 is due within two (2) weeks of becoming a candidate. The F-1 is sent directly to the Public Disclosure Commission. The F-1 is not required to be filed with the county.
    • Okanogan School District #105
    • Brewster School District #111-203J
    • Tonasket School District #404
    • Oroville School District #4l0
    • City of Okanogan
    • City of Omak
    • City of Oroville
    • Fire District #1
    • Fire District #3
    • Fire District #4
    • Fire District #6
    • Douglas-Okanogan Fire District #15
    • Methow Valley EMS
    • Oroville EMS
    • Tonasket EMS
    • Grant County Hospital District #6
    • Coulee Area Park & Recreation District
    • Tonasket Parks & Recreation District
  4. Districts with 5,000 or more registered votes.
    • County Offices (Commissioner, Auditor, Assessor, etc.)
    • Superior Court Judge
    • District Court Judge
    • PUD District Commissioner
    • Omak School District #19
    • Methow Valley School District #350
    • Hospital District #l
    • Hospital District #3
    • Hospital District #4
    • Okanogan Conservation District
    • Okanogan County Transportation District
    • Road District
PRIMARY ELECTION

Nonpartisan offices for which more than two candidates filed will appear on the Primary Election Ballot.

Partisan Offices - All will appear on the Primary Election Ballot.

Order of names on the Primary Election ballot will be determined by lot.

For offices for which no Primary Election is held, the order for the General Election will be determined by lot. (RCW 29A.36.130)

Partisan offices - The top 2 vote getters for each office will appear on the General Election ballot.
Precinct Committee Officers will be elected on the Primary Election ballot.
DRAWING BY LOT FOR POSITION ON THE BALLOT

Open to the public, Friday at the close of filing, a random selection will be done to determine the order on the ballot. If only one candidate filed for an office, no drawing will be held for that position. The drawing will be done for both Partisan and Nonpartisan offices and candidates.

Procedure:

  1. Proof the list of candidates.
  2. Determine the office with the largest number of candidates. .
  3. Place a number of bingo balls into the container to the number of candidates for that office.
    • For instance, if the office has five candidates, balls numbered 1-5 are placed in the container.
  4. After mixing the balls, they are removed from the container one at a time, recording each number in order.
  5. This determines the order for all offices on the ballot.

Example:

Order of balls drawn: 3, 1, 4, 2, 5

Office 1 Office 1 Ballot Order Office 2 Office 2 Ballot Order
Fairley Moss Buckles Ramsay
Johnson Fairley Duncan Buckles
Moss Roberts Ramsay Duncan
Roberts Johnson    
Smith Smith    

If there are fewer candidates than positions drawn, skip the numbers that do not apply.

When candidates withdraw, the candidates simply move up in line.

This ballot order also applies to special filing periods.

When the drawing is completed, a new list of candidates filing for the offices will be compiled with the candidates shown in the order resulting from the drawing. This list will be given out to anyone requesting a list of people who filed for office.
GENERAL ELECTION

If there is a Primary, the candidate that received the most votes will appear first on the ballot. The top two vote getters will appear on the General Election.

Names of candidates not subject to a Primary will be listed on the General Election Ballot in the order determined by lot drawing. (RCW 29A.36.130)
MANDATORY RECOUNT

An automatic recount applies to candidates and state-wide measures and will occur under the following situations.

Machine Recount
If less than one-half of 1% of votes cast separates candidates or issues and it is less than 2,000 votes.

Hand Recount

  • State wide – If less than .25% (1/4 of 1%) and less than 1,000 votes.
  • All other – If less than .25% (1/4 of 1%) and less than 150 votes.
  • All requested recounts must be submitted no later than three (3) working days after the official canvass is completed. (RCW 29A.64)
CONTEST THAT ENDS IN A TIE

If after the recount, the candidates for an office received the same number of votes (Tie), the winner will be determined by lot publicly. (RCW 29A.60.220)
ASSUMPTION OF OFFICE

All newly elected officials will take office the first of the year, unless the time of assumption is different by statue. The oath of office can be taken up to 10 days before the scheduled date of assuming office. (RCW 29A.20.040)
LEGISLATURE CONVENES

Sessions of the legislature shall be held annually, commencing on the second Monday of January. (RCW 44.04.010)
STATE MEASURES

State ballot measures approved by the voters become law upon proclamation of the Governor. This is within 30 days of the election unless a different effective date is contained within the text of the measure. (RCW 29A.60.260)
Top Two Primary - Partisan Offices

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold I-872 will result in Washington State’s first Top Two Primary. The impact of this new system involves some important points for prospective candidates. These changes only apply to partisan offices. These rules do not apply to nonpartisan offices, Precinct Committee Officers, or the office of President.

Filing

  • File the Declaration of Candidacy form and pay the filing fee as usual.
  • Candidates may indicate a political party preference on the Declaration of Candidacy, or select no party preference; a candidate’s preference will apply to both the primary and general elections.
  • No nomination or endorsement by a party either before or after filing is required.
  • Major political parties may not prevent a candidate from expressing a preference for their party.
  • Minor party candidates and candidates without a party preference do not need to conduct conventions nor gather signatures; candidates need only to file a Declaration of Candidacy and pay a filing fee, if applicable.
  • If no one files for a particular race, then that race will be re-opened for a special three-day filing period.
  • If only one or two candidates file, that race will still appear on the primary election ballot. Filing will not be reopened if only one candidate files.
  • The ballot will have two lines for every candidate. The candidate’s name will appear on the first line. The second line will contain a statement regarding the candidate’s preference. This statement will appear on both the primary and general election ballots.
  • The two candidates who receive the most votes in the primary qualify for the general election. Candidates must also receive at least 1% of the votes cast for that race in order to advance to the general.
PARTY CHAIRPERSONS

Democrats
Katie Haven
PO Box 1
Omak, WA 98841
chair@okanogandemocrats.org

Republicans
Christa (Teagan) Levine
204 Antwine Ave. S
Tonasket, WA 98855
OCRPChair@gmail.com