Despite the critical and popular success of the Netflix series “House of Cards,” interest in politics is not exactly booming – at least, not as measured by voter participation in the general election of 2013 in Washington state.
Voter turnout statewide was just 44.5 %, the lowest in a decade, according to news reports
of information provided by the Office of the Secretary of State. “Turnout” – something of a misnomer in a state in which all voting is conducted by mail – commonly refers to the percentage of registered voters who cast ballots; the percentage of the voting-eligible population (registered and unregistered) that participated would be even lower.
But that’s not for lack of trying by the state House of Representatives to boost citizen engagement in democracy. In the 2013 regular session, the majority steered to House passage three measures aimed directly at encouraging voter participation:
- House Bill 1267, sponsored by Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon of Burien, would shorten the lead team required for a voter to register online in order to be eligible to vote in an upcoming election – and in its original form, would have added Washington to the nine states that allow voters to register and vote on election day.
-
HB 1279, by Rep. Steve Bergquist of Seattle, would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to register to vote when they get their drivers’ licenses, with the registration taking effect on their 18th birthdays.
- HB 1290, by Rep. Tina Orwall of Des Moines, would have required the placement of ballot drop boxes on public college campuses.
All three bills died in the Senate.