2017 Seattle mayoral election

Elections in Washington use a nonpartisan blanket primary which selects the top two candidates, whether endorsed by any party or not, to appear on the general election ballot, along with a write-in space. Washington elections have been vote-by-mail in every county since 1990. Since there are no polling places, voting can only be done by absentee ballot, typically mailed to registered voters 20 days ahead of the election deadline, and returned by US Mail. Replacement ballots may be downloaded online and printed by the voter. Designated ballot drop boxes are available as an alternative to mailing, and voters with disabilities can get assistance in person beginning 18 days before election day. Mail in ballots must be postmarked by midnight of the election day, or delivered to the drop box by 8 pm. The ballots for the 2017 primary were mailed on July 12, and the primary election day was August 1. King County Elections began posting results at 8:30 pm on that day, and certified final results on August 15. General election ballots were mailed out on or before October 18, and drop boxes opened the following day. The general Election Day was November 7, and results were certified on November 28. ==City politics==

Ed Murray, a former state legislator, was elected Mayor of Seattle during the 2013 mayoral election, defeating incumbent Mike McGinn. During Murray's first term in office, Seattle adopted a $15 hourly minimum wage, a citywide preschool program, a large transportation funding measure, and reforms within the Seattle Police Department after intervention from the United States Department of Justice. Ed Murray abuse lawsuit In early April, several months before the primary election, a lawsuit was filed against Mayor Ed Murray, alleging sexual abuse of the plaintiff as a minor in the 1980s in exchange for drug money. The allegations were denied by Murray, who initially said he would fight the suit and carry on his campaign, but decided to withdraw a month later because, he said, the Mayor's race should be about the needs of the city, not "a scandal, which it would be focused on, if I were to remain in". The Seattle Times editorial board had said they feared dealing with the allegations during an election would weaken Murray to the point that an "extreme left-wing ideologue" could become Mayor, so Murray should withdraw from the race to "clear the way for another qualified, pragmatic leader to come forward". The Stranger alt-weekly said that even though The Times mentioned Kshama Sawant as the kind of mayor they feared, they really meant lawyer and Black Lives Matter activist Nikkita Oliver. Murray ended his campaign on May 9, after a fourth accuser was identified. ==Primary election==

Candidates , left, with Tim Burgess, right On final ballot Seattle elections are officially nonpartisan, but some candidates have a stated party affiliation. • Gary Brose (Republican), entrepreneur • Jessyn Farrell (Democratic), state representative from 46th district • Thom Gunn (Green Democrat) • Bob Hasegawa (Democratic), state senator from 11th district. • Lewis A. Jones (Republican), small business owner • Cary Moon (Democratic), activist and urban planner • James W. Norton Jr. (Democratic), Seattle police officer • Jason Roberts (Democratic), consultant withdrew April 20 • Adam Star, attorney; withdrew April 28 • Mike O'Brien, city councilmember Political positions Each candidate on the primary ballot was sent a questionnaire by The Seattle Times in which they discussed their political positions. • Gary Brose — More traffic lanes for cars, remove homeless from public areas, fiscal discipline. Jenny Durkan and Cary Moon won the August 1 primary, with Durkan's 51,529 votes comprising 27.97% of the total, and Moon's 32,536 votes comprising 17.66%. Until the final result was certified on August 15, Moon's second-place finish was uncertain, with Nikkita Oliver running a close third with 17.02% of the total, or 31,366 votes, finishing 1,170 votes, or 0.63 percentage points behind Moon. The size of the top two candidates' leads shrank slightly as the daily counts were announced, but not enough to change the outcome. None of the three conceded, or claimed victory, until final tally. None of the leading candidates eliminated in the primary, Oliver, Farrell, O'Brien, or Hasegawa, had made any endorsements at that point. The first day's preliminary count after the August 1 primary was 88,950 ballots, 19.18% of the 463,660 ballots sent to registered voters. The leaders in this initial count were Jenny Durkan with 27,579 votes or 31.6% of the ballots counted so far, Cary Moon with 13,583 or 15.56%, and Nikkita Oliver with 12,126 or 13.9%. Jessyn Farrell had 10,308 votes (11.81%), Bob Hasegawa 7,526 (8.62%), and Mike McGinn 6,247 (7.16%). The remaining 15 candidates, and write-ins, totaled 9,899 votes, or 11.3%. By August 8, local media said Durkan and Moon appeared certain to have their names on the general election ballot, with 186,784 ballots counted representing 40.28% of registered voters, and about 1,200 Seattle ballots left. Most of the remaining ballots were awaiting signature challenges. Oliver had begun a campaign of 'ballot chasing', encouraging supporters whose ballots had been challenged to contact the elections office to defend them. Durkan and Moon said they supported Oliver's efforts to make sure every vote is counted. Durkan, with 27.96% was still secure in her position, while Moon's lead over Oliver had decreased to 1,362, larger than the number of remaining ballots. After an election is certified, a recount is mandatory when candidates are separated by very slim margins. Moon did not announce she had won, and Oliver did not concede. Moon said she contacted Farrell, Hasegawa, McGinn, and Oliver to begin discussing working together. Oliver signaled that if Moon moved to the general they would support Moon, while the others are waiting for the final results. ==General election==

Endorsements Polls --> Debate Results In the first preliminary returns, Durkan won nearly 61 percent of votes. The Seattle Times called the election for Durkan, predicting that her lead was too large for Moon to overcome in the uncounted ballots. King County Elections planned to finish counting ballots and certify the final result on November 28. On November 8, Moon conceded to Durkan and offered her congratulations. ==References==