Washington voters will be best served by a Secretary of State with experience registering voters and administering elections. Our current Secretary of State, Kim Wyman, has been working in elections for more than 23 years: eight as Thurston County’s Elections Manager, 12 as Thurston County’s auditor and almost four as our state’s chief elections official.
Secretary Wyman’s opponent has never worked in elections. She demonstrated her lack of understanding of our election laws, and of the Secretary of State’s responsibilities, when she called on Secretary Wyman to cancel this year’s presidential primary. This request was made four weeks before the primary, after ballots had been printed and mailed to military and overseas voters. Moreover, canceling the primary would have violated state law. A candidate for Secretary of State should have known this. A Seattle Times editorial described the request as “silly and disturbing.”
Nearly 60 current and former county auditors and elections directors (Republicans, Democrats and nonpartisans) from each of Washington’s 39 counties have endorsed Kim Wyman. No county elections official has endorsed her opponent. Our past three Secretaries of State have endorsed her, as have groups across the political spectrum, including the Washington Education Association and the Association of Washington Business. Seven daily newspaper editorial boards, including The Columbian’s, have endorsed a Secretary of State candidate. Each has endorsed Kim Wyman.
Secretary Wyman is committed to continuing to improving access to the elections system while also maintaining accuracy, transparency and accountability.
I hope you will join me in voting to retain Kim Wyman as our Secretary of State.
Greg Kimsey
Vancouver
