by LYNNWOOD TIMES STAFF

Candidates for Lynnwood City Council are counting on voters to turn in their ballots, but how active are those candidates when it comes to voting in elections?

The Lynnwood Times reviewed public voter records for all 12 candidates vying for a city council seat in this year’s primary election. The Lynnwood Times looked at the frequency candidates voted in the last eight elections starting with the 2016 primary election and ending with the 2018 general election.  Below is a table showing the voting engagement score for each Lynnwood City Council candidate.

In the cases of Diodato (Dio) Boucsieguez, Nazanin (Naz) Lashgari and Maggie Mae, there were fewer voting records due to their more recent voter registrations of September 2016, January 2017 and October 2017 respectively.  The scores were adjusted to reflect their more recent registration.

Perfect voting records include Position 4 candidates Naz Lashgari, Jim Smith and Van Aubuchon, Position 5 candidate Rosamaria Graziani, and Position 7 candidates Shannon Session and Shirley Sutton.

Other candidates with consistent voting records are Position 4 candidates James Rutherford, Ashkan Amouzegar, and Dio Boucsieguez, Position 5 candidate David Schirle and Position 7 candidate Maggie Mae.

The Lynnwood Times reached out to Julieta Altamirano-Crosby to share her thoughts on having a less consistent voting record than the other candidates.

Altamirano-Crosby said, “There are many ways to be civically engaged in addition to voting. Over a year ago I began working with the League of Women Voters to reach people in diverse communities aimed at increasing participation in the electoral process.  As a relative novice to the American electoral system, I understand the difficulties of participating in the vote, and that is part of the reason why I’m running. I will continue to build bridges so that residents of Lynnwood are better connected with their local government and feel that their vote matters.”

Typically, voter participation in a non-presidential off-year election in Snohomish County is roughly 23% for a primary election and 34% for a general election.  For Lynnwood those stats are 23% and 32% respectively.  According to the Snohomish County Auditor’s Office, as of July 5, there are 20,441 active registered and 1,593 inactive voters in Lynnwood. 

An inactive voter is a voter who may be eligible to vote but must update their voter registration with the county auditor’s office.  Residents have until July 29 to register or update their address online or by mail.

Ballots for this year’s primary election are expected to arrive in mailboxes by July 20. The last day to mail or return your ballot is August 6.  Ballots may be mailed to the Snohomish County Auditor’s Office or placed into one of nineteen Ballot Drop Box locations throughout the county.  The Lynnwood Ballot Drop Box location is in front of Lynnwood City Hall at 19100 44th Ave. W.