The Clark County Auditor’s Office’s decision to include a number of nonpartisan races on the primary ballot earlier this month received legal support as a county superior court judge denied a motion to not count votes for one of those races.
In a July 29 ruling, Clark County Superior Court Judge Derek Vanderwood denied the injunction filed by Brett Simpson, a candidate for Clark County auditor, against sitting Auditor Greg Kimsey, Clark County Elections Supervisor Cathie Garber, and the county as a whole. The suit specifically targeted the auditor’s race which only featured two candidates in the primary, meaning both candidates moved on to November’s general election.
In the suit, Simpson argued because county-level races are nonpartisan, including them on the primary ballot was counter to state law when the races had two or fewer candidates. Though not named in the suit, other county races on the ballot included those for Clark County assessor, Clark County clerk, Clark County treasurer and Clark County prosecuting attorney, all of which had only the incumbent in each seat running.
Last year, Clark County voters changed the county’s executive positions to nonpartisan as one of a number of amendments to the county’s governing document, the Clark County Home Rule Charter. The amendment stated that although nonpartisan, elections for the affected seats “shall be conducted in the manner provided for partisan local elections under state law.” Partisan seats in Washington state are placed on the primary ballot even if there are two or fewer candidates.
The judge ruled the “home rule charter has plain language and is not in conflict with state law,” Kimsey said following the hearing.
“It’s good to have that ruling,” Kimsey said.
He added he was “never really concerned about the merits of the argument.”
The votes for Clark County auditor were ultimately counted, with Kimsey having a sizable lead over Simpson. As of the final election tally by the county on Aug. 16, Kimsey had 69.9% of the vote.
As of press deadline, the lawsuit was still listed as active on the state court database, though nothing had been filed for dates set after July 29.
