Douglas Co. To Send Insert With Primary Ballots Over Changes

Candidates for the state legislature in Grant County must now file for the election in Douglas County as well. 

A court decision earlier this year changed the boundaries of the 13th District to include southern Douglas County, including Rock Island and Pangborn Airport. 

Douglas County Auditor Thad Duvall thinks the change will lead to confusion among voters. 

"Sometimes we have voters access the old maps when they get their ballot," said Duvall. "And their ballot is going to reflect the candidates that are in their new areas. So, sometimes they're accessing the old map, and they don't believe their district has changed. But in reality, it's changed for the voting purposes, and they're voting people in for next year." 

Still, Duvall says his office is making a concerted effort to avoid voter confusion over the change. 

"We're going to put an insert in the ballots going out for the primary," Duvall said. "We're still working on whether we can get our mailing house to target that. If we can, it'll be a targeted insertion. We're working on the logistics of that right now." 

Two incumbent state representatives in the 13th District have filed for the election in Douglas County. The incumbents are Republican Tom Dent of Moses Lake and Republican Alex Ybarra of Quincy 

The deadline for candidates to file is Friday at 5 pm. 

The once-a-decade redistricting process in 2022 made major changes in Washington state. Then a ruling this year from a federal judge on a unrelated voting matter ended up making further changes.  

As a result, the Wenatchee area is divided into three districts. 

Chelan and Douglas counties used to be in the 12th legislative district.  

Redistricting in 2022 moved the 12th district west and brought the 7th district into Douglas County. Then the recent court decision altered voting boundaries even further, bringing the 13th district into Douglas County. 

Also, the 7th district now includes Downtown Wenatchee and Olds Station in Chelan County. The rest of Chelan County remains in the 12th district.