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Over the next 10 months, residents of Snohomish County have a unique opportunity to improve our elections and government. As a chartered county, we have the power to decide how we elect our representatives. Last November, we elected a Charter Review Commission to review and generate proposals for changes to our charter, which we will be able to vote on this upcoming November.
Unfortunately, the method by which we elect our Charter Review Commissioners leaves a lot to be desired. It is currently done by “block voting,” a system where a territory is divided into non-proportionally elected multi-member districts where voters cast as many votes as there are seats, also called multiple non-transferable voting. This method is known to leave minorities in the dust, and a candidate can win an election with a tiny fraction of the vote. (Learn more here and here.) In fact, in 2025 and 2015, 14 out of the 15 Commissioners were elected with less than 20% of the vote.
The way we elect our County Council members, the familiar ‘winner take all’ method, is also not ideal. My experience, from talking to people in my community, is that many voters feel forced to vote for candidates based on ‘electability’ rather than voting their true conscience. My sense is that political and racial/ethnic minorities are discouraged from voting at all, knowing that no one who shares their worldview will gain a single seat at the table. Potential new candidates are discouraged from running against entrenched and well-connected incumbents, and candidates are forced to negatively campaign in a mad dash to beat down their most-well-financed opponent.
Does this charter review also give us an opportunity to change the way we vote on things like last year’s levy lid lift? I believe that many of those who voted against the levy lift did so in the belief that, while they recognized that the city needed more money, they felt that the ask was too large. I would advocate for a change whereby, instead of having the city pick a single figure to put to an up or down vote, a range of options could be offered instead. For example, if we had been offered a chance to vote on options of zero, $3M, $6M, $9M, $12M or the full $14.5 M, we might have seen 50%+1 voters selecting the options of $6M or higher which would have authorized the city to proceed with a levy lid lift of $6M. This could provide a much less polarized approach to these sorts of votes and a more honest and objective debate of the city’s needs and responsibilities.
I totally agree with you, Niall. I would have voted “yes” for the original figure of $6.5 million, especially if it was for one year. The all or nothing, “multi-year open-ended” option was just too great a leap for me.
Answering Niall’s question: Once every 10 years, the Snohomish County Charter Review Commission (CRC) review the Snohomish County Charter to consider possible changes to address evolving needs. It only applies to Snohomish County government. An overview can be found at: https://snohomishcountywa.gov/3520/Charter-Review-Commission
Hence, the CRC doesn’t have authority over what a ballot initiative for a levy looks like.
The points that Holly does a great job of making in this article is that there are alternative ways to elect our county officials that can do a far better job of serving Snohomish County voters.