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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 3 |
| 1880 | 4 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1885 | 3 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1889 | 6 |
| 1891 | 9 |
| 1892 | 14 |
| 1893 | 2 |
| 1894 | 12 |
| 1895 | 8 |
| 1899 | 5 |
| 1900 | 1 |
70 stories matching precinct
- The Ghost Map of 1889: Seattle's Lost Electoral Boundaries
When the city commissioners abruptly sliced Seattle into eight voting precincts, they left thousands of residents in the dark about where—or if—they could vote.
- The Court Could Make Commissioners Act—But Not Tell Them How
A mandamus bid to split Martin's Creek precinct fails, with Judge Lichtenberg ruling the board already acted within the law.
- Voters Denied a Voice in the Woods
A legal battle erupts as King County residents claim they are being disenfranchised by a failure to establish local election precincts.
- The City That Almost Was: The 1891 Annexation Election
A historic ballot reveals how Seattle once planned its expansion by absorbing the suburban districts of Salmon Bay, Fremont, and Latona.
- The Rainy Day Landslide in Duwamish
When an obscure race for road overseer became a test of precinct dominance, political machines mobilized hundreds of voters through a steady downpour.
- Republican Defectors in Duwamish
A political primary in the Duwamish precinct saw a surprising shift, with voters rejecting a Garfield endorsement in a vote that signaled growing political friction in 1880 Seattle.
- The Battle Over Voter Registration at Martin Creek
A local judge rules against the King County commissioners, setting a precedent for voter integrity in a contested territory.
- The 1892 Election Results: McGraw Triumphs in King County
Early returns confirm a decisive victory for Republican gubernatorial candidate John H. McGraw, as local voters deliver a clear mandate in the state's most populous county.
- Seattle Voters Weigh Annexation in 1891 Special Election
Seattle prepares to redraw its boundaries, drafting a massive list of local citizens to man the polls for a city expansion that would fundamentally reshape the region.
- The Saloon at the Race Track
A legal battle over liquor licenses in the Duwamish precinct reveals the limits of civic power when faced with the relentless machinery of the law.
- Precinct Politics and Dirty Tricks
A look at the chaotic and sometimes fraudulent methods used to select delegates for the upcoming Democratic county convention in Seattle.
- Seattle’s $15 Million Gamble: Voters Decide the City’s Fate on Jan. 26
Two historic special elections converge on a single day in January 1891: one to annex vast tracts of land including Salmon Bay, and another to authorize massive bond issues for infrastructure and debt relief.
- The City’s IOUs: Seattle's Great 1892 Debt Reckoning
Facing a mountain of unpaid warrants and legal liabilities, the city council asks voters to decide if Seattle will settle its debts with bonds or face financial collapse.
- Seattle's Great Annexation Election of 1891
Voters head to the polls to decide the future footprint of a booming frontier city as Seattle proposes to annex neighboring Ballard and outlying precincts.
- The Great Annexation: How Seattle Stole Ballard’s Soul
A historic vote is set to determine whether the booming independent town of Ballard will be swallowed whole by its larger neighbor, Seattle.
- The Exhausting Wait: How Seattle's 1874 Election Paralyzed the City
After election clerks were locked in a hall for thirty hours to tally votes, local journalists decried the bureaucratic slog as a 'quarry slave' ordeal that turned even the most patient men into irritable, sleep-deprived ruins.
- Democratic Factions Clash Over Convention Rules
Local committee members wrangle over primary rules to block or bolster the candidacy of James Hamilton Lewis.
- Two Offices Hang on a Pile of Double-Marked Ballots
Lawyers spend a full day before Judge Langley fighting over the sheriff's and coroner's seats, as Moyer and Van de Vanter trade technicalities over initials, stamps and hundreds of spoiled ballots.
- The Republican Party Fights Over Who Gets Counted
Seattle Republicans revolted against a county apportionment that gave rural precincts outsized delegate power, organizing a new club and threatening an indignation meeting.
- An Election Challenge in the 39th District
A candidate launches a formal contest against Representative-elect Will R. White, alleging bribery and illegal voting in King County.
- Primary Meeting Erupts in Laughter
A political primary meeting takes a humorous turn when a physician makes a pointed jab at the judiciary.
- The Purging of 'Whitechapel'
The Seattle City Council and local newspapers clash over the city’s attempt to erase a notorious downtown red-light district from the map.
- The Justice of the Peace Who Found His Salary Unjust
A Seattle judge argues that new laws have expanded his workload beyond his original pay grade, testing the limits of municipal budgeting.
- The Ballot Box Was Too Full in Franklin
Populists brought witnesses to court to show that votes in Franklin precinct were pushed, shaken and crammed into an overflowing box—irregularity, they argued, even if not outright fraud.
- The Great Liquor Debate of 1886
As Seattle teetered on the edge of a new era, citizens prepared for a pivotal June vote to determine the future of the local liquor trade.
Also about this, in other words
- The City Wants Its Fair Share: Republican Wards Revolt Over Delegate Math
Three ward clubs storm the county Republican committee to protest an apportionment that hands the countryside outsized power — and the committee adjourns without budging an inch.
- The Ward Clubs Revolt Over Delegate Math
Republican ward clubs across Seattle split over how county convention delegates were apportioned—and who got to name the primary judges.
- The 'Law and Order' Battles of Old Seattle
As municipal elections approached in 1885, rival factions clashed over the 'principle' of regulating vice, revealing a city struggling with its own moral identity.
- The Courthouse That Never Was
A desperate plea to build a modest county seat on a 'high ridge' between Seattle and Belltown before the city outgrows its footprint.
- One Judge for Two Counties: Seattle's Judge Osborn Wants the Bench Trimmed
A King County jurist tells the legislature that twenty-four superior judges for thirty-four counties is money badly spent — and that a judge handling Seattle's docket earns no more than one deciding farm boundary lines.