And then there were 39?

Ever since the Legislature gave counties permission to decide whether to switch to all vote-by-mail, nearly every one has made the move. The last two holdouts of the 39 counties have been populous King (Seattle) and Pierce (Tacoma). King County, which soon will be certified to use new rapid ballot-counting machines, has announced that it will no longer use poll sites. And Pierce County's new auditor, Jan Shabro, has just sent up a request to the County Council asking permission to switch over to all vote-by-mail for this year's August primary and November general election. Shabro, a former Republican member of the Legislature and the GOP-controlled Council, says it's a cost saving proposal ($150k) and that she isn't asking for a permanent switch. A bill to require all counties to use the mail-voting method passed the House, but died in the Senate. Secretary Reed supports the mail-voting system, saying it boosts voter participation and saves money.