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The top half of the 1914 Voters' Pamphlet. (Photo courtesy of Washington State Archives)
Over the next few days, every Washington household will receive the state Voters’ Pamphlet for this year’s General Election. (If you don’t receive yours soon, contact our Elections Division.) Did you know that the Washington secretary of state has distributed a Voters’ Pamphlet every year since 1914? Yep, we’ve been providing this useful and informative voting tool for over 100 years. Nowadays, the VP features a cool or interesting photo on the front cover. (In fact Secretary Wyman herself took this year’s cover photo!) Back in 1914, the cover (above) wasn’t quite as snazzy. It was red with plenty of black lettering: “A PAMPHLET CONTAINING A Copy of All Measures “Proposed by Initiative Petition,” “Proposed to the People by the Legislature,” and “Amendment to the Constitution Proposed by the Legislature.” The bottom of the 1914 Voters’ Pamphlet says it was “Compiled and Issued by I.M. Howell, Secretary of State.” (One bit of trivia: The 1914 General Election was held on Nov. 3, the same date as this year’s election, although back then there wasn’t an 18-day voting window like we enjoy now.) That 1914 Voters’ Pamphlet is the second Archives Treasure for October. The third and final one is coming soon, so be watching. You'll get to vote for your favorite.