Counties in Washington
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Top 100 cities by population |
Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of elections in the 100 largest cities in America by population and the largest counties that overlap those cities. This encompasses all city, county, judicial, school district, and special district offices appearing on the ballot within those cities.
This page includes the following resources:
- The county governments covered by Ballotpedia in Washington
- A list and map of counties in Washington
- An overview of local elections in Washington
- An overview of the initiative process in Washington
Counties
County government
Click the links below for information about county governments in Ballotpedia's coverage scope:
Full list of counties
According to a 2022 study from the U.S. Census Bureau, this state's local governments consist of 39 counties, 281 cities, towns, and villages, and 1,275 special districts.[1]
The following table defaults to displaying only 25 counties at a time. To change the number of counties displayed, use the drop-down menu above the upper left-hand corner of the table. You can also use the search bar above the upper-right corner of the table to look up a specific county.
Map of counties
Counties in blue on the map below are part of Ballotpedia's county coverage scope:
Elections
Click the links below for information about the elections held in each municipality. Please note that this is not a comprehensive list of municipalities that held elections each year in this state; click here to learn more about Ballotpedia's local government coverage scope.
2025
- Olympia, Washington
- Seattle, Washington
- Spokane, Washington
- King County, Washington
- Washington school board elections
2024
2023
- Olympia, Washington
- Seattle, Washington
- Spokane, Washington
- King County, Washington
- Spokane County, Washington
- Washington school board elections
2022
Ballotpedia expanded its coverage of local elections in Washington in 2022. Click here to find your county, or click the links below for additional information about the following municipalities:
2021
2020
Past elections
Initiative process availability
The availability of initiative varies depending on the classification, form of government, and home rule status of a town, city, or county.
Counties
General law counties do not have initiative authority, except to petition to adopt a charter. The six home rule charter counties do have authority, and all six have adopted an initiative process.[2]
Cities
First class charter cities have a mandated initiative process for charter amendments. A first class charter city may adopt initiative for ordinances in its charter, and all ten have done so.
Second class cities and towns do not have authority to adopt initiative.
Code cities have authority to permit initiative. If a code city exercises that authority, the initiative process is set by state statute. As of 2005, approximately 46 code cities had elected to allow initiative. There is one city, Shelton, which uses the commission form of government and has a mandated initiative process.
The following code cities permit initiative:[3][4]
- Battle Ground
- Bellevue
- Blaine
- Bonney Lake
- Bothell
- Brier
- Burien
- Camas
- Chelan
- Cheney
- Clarkston
- Des Moines
- Edgewood
- Edmonds
- Ellensburg
- Federal Way
- Ferndale
- Goldendale
- Issaquah
- Kelso
- Kent
- Lake Forest Park
- Longview
- Lynnwood
- Mercer Island
- Mill Creek
- Monroe
- Mountlake Terrace
- Mukilteo
- North Bend
- Ocean Shores
- Olympia
- Rainier
- Raymond
- Redmond
- Renton
- Ridgefield
- SeaTac
- Sequim
- Shoreline
- Shelton
- Tukwila
- Tumwater
- Walla Walla
- Wenatchee
- Woodinville
See also
| Washington | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Washington municipal code library
- Washington state government website
Footnotes
- ↑ U.S. Census Bureau, "2022 Census of Governments – Organization," accessed October 16, 2023
- ↑ Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington, "County Forms of Government," accessed August 23, 2013
- ↑ Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington, "Initiative and Referendum Guide for Washington Cities and Charter Counties," April 2018
- ↑ Ballotpedia, "Types & #s of local government by state," September 2012
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