By Rachel La Corte
The Associated Press
OLYMPIA — Two competing gun initiatives top this week’s election, when voters will also weigh in on congressional and legislative contests on the North Olympic Peninsula and across the state.
An initiative seeking to limit class sizes for students in kindergarten through 12th grade is also competing for voters’ attention Tuesday, along with 10 Congressional races, dozens of legislative contests and elections for four seats on the state Supreme Court.
Voters started receiving their ballots in the middle of October and have until Tuesday night to get them postmarked or to put them in specialized drop boxes.
Of the 3.9 million ballots sent to registered voters statewide, about 25 percent had been returned by Saturday.
As of Friday, the Jefferson County Auditor’s Office reported having received 9,495 ballots out of the 22,858 issued to registered voters for a voter turnout of 41.54 percent.
In Clallam County, 14,684 ballots had been returned out of 46,887 issued for a voter turnout of 31.32 percent.
David Ammons, a spokesman for Secretary of State Kim Wyman, said that even absent top-of-the-ballot statewide races like a governor’s race to drive turnout, “there’s plenty of good reason to vote this year.”
Ammons said that they are predicting that voter turnout will end up at about 62 percent — lower than the 71 percent during the last midterm election in 2010, but better than 56 percent in 2002, the last midterm without a Senate race.
The measures that are drawing the most attention — and money — are the competing gun measures, Initiatives 594 and 591.
I-594 — which brought in more than $10 million, including donations from prominent figures like Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg — is seeking to expand the state’s current background check laws to require checks on private transactions, including private sales at gun shows.
I-591 would prevent any such expansion from occurring, prohibiting government agencies from conducting any checks beyond the national standard, which requires the checks for sales or transfers by licensed dealers but not for purchases from private sellers.
It also would prohibit the confiscation of weapons without due process.
Voters also will decide on Initiative 1351, which would set lower class sizes at every grade level.
Due to the state’s vote-by-mail system that only requires ballots to be postmarked by Election Night, in some of the more competitive races, results may not be known for days as most counties will update vote counts only once a day.
While there are no statewide offices on the ballot, 10 U.S. House seats are contested, including the 6th Congressional District seat of U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, a Gig Harbor Democrat being challenged by Gig Harbor Republican Marty McClendon in his bid for a second term representing the district that includes the North Olympic Peninsula.
In the state Legislature, all 98 House seats are in the mix, as are 25 Senate seats.
On the North Olympic Peninsula, incumbent 24th District state Rep. Steve Tharinger, a Sequim Democrat, faces Thomas Greisamer, a Republican from Moclips in Grays Harbor County, for the Position 2 seat.
Position 1 incumbent state Rep. Kevin Van De Wege, a Sequim Democrat, is running unopposed.
Currently in the Legislature, a mostly Republican coalition holds a 26-23 advantage in the Senate, and Democrats hold a 55-43 advantage in the House.
The combined amount raised by all of the legislative races has exceeded $25 million, with several million focused on a handful of key Senate races.
Four state Supreme Court justices are seeking re-election this year, but only two face opponents.
Justice Mary Yu is running unopposed to fill out the two years remaining in the term of retired Justice James Johnson.
Yu is a former King County Superior Court judge who was appointed to the high court by Gov. Jay Inslee In May.
Justice Mary Fairhurst, who has served on the court since 2003, also faces no opposition in her bid for a third six-year term.
Justices Debra Stephens and Charles Johnson face nominal opposition in their bids for re-election.
Stephens’ opponent is John “Zamboni” Scannell, a disbarred attorney, and Johnson is opposed by Pierce County attorney Eddie Yoon.
