King County Elections and Seattle Foundation are excited to announce the recipients of our next Voter Education Fund! A total of 39 community-based organizations are being funded $950,000 to provide nonpartisan voter outreach in historically underrepresented communities.

Instead of funding organizations on an annual basis, this cycle will award two-year grants. We want to ensure organizations have the resources they need to do significant voter engagement in what promises to be an exciting local election year and through the 2020 election.

Organizations are being funded at two levels: up to $40,000 to develop a two-year campaign to engage voters or potential voters, or up to $15,000 to provide a series of smaller activities through 2019 and 2020.

Grantees serve a wide array of communities, including communities of color, limited-English speaking residents, low-income youth, veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and people who have been convicted of a felony. This cycle places an increased emphasis on voter outreach to people with disabilities, African American and Native American voters, and historically marginalized residents in South King County.

Organizations receiving funding will attend an orientation and training workshop at King County Elections during the week of June 3, 2019.

The full list of 2019 grantees is:

• 21 Progress
• APACEvotes
• Asian Counseling and Referral Service
• Being Empowered Thru Supportive Transitions
• Byrd Barr Place
• Coalition of Immigrants, Refugees and Communities of Color (CIRCC)
• Disability Rights Washington
• El Centro de la Raza
• Entre Hermanos
• Eritrean Association in Greater Seattle
• Hearing, Speech & Deaf Center
• India Association of Western Washington
• Indigenous Showcase
• Ingersoll Gender Center
• Institute for Community Leadership
• InterIm CDA
• International Community Health Services
• Kent Black Action Commission (KBAC)
• Korean American Coalition—WA
• Latino Community Fund
• Living Well Kent
• Mother Africa
• Mujer al Volante
• Muslim Community & Neighborhood Association
• Na’ah Illahee Fund
• NAMI Eastside
• Para Los Niños
• Progress Pushers
• Refugee Women’s Alliance (ReWA)
• Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness
• SOAR
• Tenants Union of Washington State
• The Vera Project
• The Washington Bus Education Fund
• URBVOTE
• U.T.O.P.I.A. Seattle
• Villa Comunitaria
• Washington Community Action Network Education & Research Fund
• West Hill Community Association

We’re now accepting applications for the 2019-2020 Voter Education Fund! King County Elections and Seattle Foundation are awarding $950,000 in grants to increase voter engagement in underserved communities over the next two years.

 

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It’s important for voters to make their voice heard. Here in Washington State we take extra steps to ensure that all people who can vote, know they have the right to do so. This extends to felon voting rights, and helping each person understand their right to vote and need to register.

Recently, a woman in Texas made headlines for voting in a general election while still on probation. She had broken a state law that does not allow convicted felons to vote until their entire sentence has been served. Unaware of these voting restrictions under Texas law, she was sentenced to five years.

This tragic story is a reminder of the importance of voter education. In Washington State, a voter’s right is automatically restored when they are no longer under the authority of the Department of Corrections (DOC). This also means someone convicted of a felony in another state or federal court has the right to vote restored to them when they are no longer incarcerated for that felony. These individuals simply need to re-register to vote, which can be done online, by mail or in person. If this woman had been here in Washington, she would have been informed that her right to vote has been reinstated upon release from the DOC, and encouraged to re-register.

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On Wednesday, March 28, we held a press conference to share our proposal for prepaid postage with local media. The press conference featured our director Julie Wise, King County Executive Dow Constantine and Councilmember Rod Dembowski.

“When I was elected, one of my commitments was to remove barriers to voting,” Julie said. “As we increase access with prepaid postage and ballot drop boxes, we’re beginning to see a real impact.”

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Elections and voter registration systems are back in the headlines. And all the talk about alleged voter fraud may have you wondering how King County measures up. But did you know the County has a group of citizens whose job is to help maintain the integrity of our elections system? The Citizens’ Elections Oversight Committee (CEOC) was established in 2006 by King County ordinance with the mission “…to help King County restore and maintain public confidence in elections.”

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