Kennewick, Wash. –
There is a thought process in eastern Washington that our vote doesn’t matter because of the size of the west side of the state.
Benton county auditor Brenda Chilton tells me that she knows it’s frustrating thinking that one side of the state is making decisions for the other side.
Chilton says “I know that there is the belief that because of the larger political makeup of the state, the votes on the east side of the state do not matter. They do in fact, especially at a local level, matter because of your legislative races and state senator races. Those are your local representatives that then go up to the state and make decisions on a state-wide level that affect us here at home.”
Chilton says that local votes matter “We have had races here locally that ended up in a tie and we ended up deciding those races by a coin flip.”
I spoke with Blylees Natural Pet Food, Supplies and Grooming owner Patrick McKennon and he tells me that the size of Seattle could be a factor in how our votes count here locally.
McKennon encourages his employees to go out and vote and let their voices be heard. McKennon facilitates his employees to take longer lunch breaks to vote.
McKennon tells me “To the people who are on the fence about voting or not, I don’t know about you but my voice matters.”
McKennon tells me that by voting in our local elections we’re able to make this area better suited for our needs and make a better community.
We’re just one week away from the deadline for you to register to vote online or by mail in Washington state. You can do that through next Monday which is October 31st.