EVERETT—Everett City Council District 4 candidate Niko Battle, who won the Primary Election to advance to the General Election, called the voter registration challenge during Monday’s administrative hearing with the Snohomish County Auditor’s Office “a politically motivated attack” designed to “suppress” his campaign and “silence the voices of voters.”
“A political opponent has chosen to weaponize Washington’s voter registration challenge process against me in pursuit of political gain,” Battle’s emphatically opened during his sworn testimony. “This, unfortunately, is not about the law. It is about silencing a candidate and silencing the voters of my district who overwhelmingly chose me to advance beyond the primary.”
On August 18, 2025, the Snohomish County Auditor’s Office received a voter registration challenge against Niko Battle, filed by SPEEA President John Dimas, a vocal supporter of District 4 candidate Luis Burbano, a fellow Boeing Engineer, who failed to garner enough votes to advance to the General Election. Dimas did not show up to his voter challenge hearing against Battle.
The voter registration challenge was deemed properly formatted, Snohomish County Auditor Garth Fell said, who was also the presiding officer for Monday’s hearing. Battle was notified, provided with the challenge affidavit and evidence, and informed of his right to update his registration. The hearing, originally scheduled for September 4, was rescheduled to September 8, to allow Battle more time to prepare for the hearing.
Under Washington law, a voter’s registration is presumed valid, placing the burden on Dimas to prove with clear and convincing evidence that Battle’s registration is improper, specifically, that he does not reside at his registered address, Sage Apartments in Everett. Fell shared that his decision later this week will be based on voter registration records, Dimas’ submitted documents, and testimony and evidence reviewed at Monday’s hearing.
After being sworn in, Battle presented a robust defense of his voter registration status contesting the claim by Dimas that he does not live at the Sage Apartments. In the documents submitted by Dimas is a signed letter by the Sage Apartments’ property manager dated August 15, stating that she has “no record of anyone by the name of Niko Battle living at Sage Apartments.”
Asserting that Washington law does not require voters to be named on a lease or maintain continuous physical presence at a single address to be eligible to vote (RCW 29A.08.112), Battle shared with County Auditor Fell that he is a resident in District 4 but in a non-traditional living situation, meaning that housing arrangements such as students, those experiencing housing transitions, or individuals temporarily out of state for work cannot be disqualified from registering to vote.
“Washington law explicitly protects the rights of voters who live in nontraditional housing arrangements, including hotels, shelters, with friends or family, on a couch, or wherever to register and to cast their ballot,” Battles said. “And this right is paramount. Many of my ancestors have fought and died for this right, and I will not sit back and allow this right to be stripped from me.”
Battle added that the issues of him not being on the lease at the Sage Apartments “are private disputes that are matters between the property manager and myself.”
“They’re [Sage Apartments] very clear in their language that they have no record of me living here, not that I do not live here,” Battle said. “They can’t confirm that I’ve never stayed on the property. Those distinctions are small, but that nuance is of paramount importance here.”
When asked directly by Auditor Fell where he physically resides, Battle replied: “As I mentioned in my case, I am in a period of transition in my life. And so sometimes I’m not staying there or I stay other places with friends, family, across the county, sometimes even out of state. I’m away on business, as I mentioned earlier. All of that is protected under Washington state law. I don’t feel the need to be singled out for them. Those are my rights to undergo and operate business in other states despite being a resident here and being a registered voter here. It is my right to essentially, unfortunately, couch surf. I’ve been looking for a more permanent situation and have narrowed that down and will update my voter registration accordingly when I move, as one of my opponents has done in my race throughout the course of interviews. There’s nothing unconventional about that. What is unconventional is this attack or this process being used and weaponized against me for the sake of political opinion.”
When asked to explain details about his non-traditional housing situation, Battle told the Lynnwood Times, after his hearing, that it revolves around his work. Battle shared that he does political and business consulting around the country that required him to travel out of state for work for months at a time.
When asked by Fell to share the unit number he lives in at the Sage Apartments, Battle replied: “I am not going to share that today as a result of a number of harassments that I received. I provided, as is also allowed by law, a mailing address where I would like to receive my ballot. That is my father’s address and that’s where I’m comfortable receiving all election-related mail. I do that because I’m also not comfortable receiving mail, and particularly sensitive mail, at Sage Apartments.”
In addressing his lack of utility bills as an indication that he does not live in District 4, Battle emphasized that because of his non-traditional living arrangements, at the moment, he does not have a utility bill under his name.
“Having a utility bill is not a requirement articulated anywhere in Washington state law to register to vote,” Battle told Fell.
The Snohomish County Auditor’s Office in its response on August 19 to an email from the Lynnwood Times inquiring how it verified Battle’s voter registration address if it is missing a unit number associated with a multifamily address stated, “While a traditional residential address may include an apartment or unit number, that detail is not required for registration purposes if the rest of the address sufficiently identifies the voter’s residence.”
The Auditor’s Office, in its email, did share a little about the process. After a voter registration is processed, an acknowledgement card is mailed to the voter. If the card is returned from the post office as undeliverable, a confirmation card is sent to all known addresses in an attempt to confirm a voter’s address.
The Lynnwood Times has confirmed with the Auditor’s Office that the mailing address listed for Battle is not the same as his alleged Everett residential address—a Granite Falls address. This is where his acknowledgement card was sent, according to the Auditor’s Office. To date, the Snohomish County Auditor’s Office has confirmed that it has “not received any mail returned as undeliverable by the U.S. Postal Service for Niko Battle.”
One-by-one, Battle addressed each claim against him in the 74-page voter registration challenge stating that Dimas’ supporting documents against him—apartment communications, online records, and claims about his residency—were either “unreliable” or “contradictory” that lacked legal weight and failed to undermine his registration.
“This case is not about housing, paperwork, or phone book entries. It’s not about whether or not I am in good standing with a landlord or whether or not I need to apply to be on the lease where I stay sometimes or whether or not I stay everywhere,” Battle told Auditor Fell. “It is about whether the right to vote belongs only to the wealthy, the well housed, and the politically connected, or whether it belongs to all of us, including those who have faced hardship, transition, and unconventional living situations.”
Upholding the voter challenge, Battle told Auditor Fell, would set a “dangerous precedent,” potentially stripping voting rights from countless Washingtonians who lack traditional housing stability.
“Washington law is clear on this issue,” Battle asserted, “I do not need to be on a lease. I do not need to have a fixed apartment. I do not need to cancel a prior registration myself. I am a resident of District 4. I registered in good faith. I am entitled to remain registered. This challenge is not a good faith effort to enforce election law. It is a politically motivated attack.”
After the hearing, Battle shared with the Lynnwood Times that for the author of the challenge, Dimas, to not show up is “cowardly” and “shameful.”
“If you’re going to try and take away someone’s right to vote, I think that the very least you can do is show up to face them in person and look them in the eyes and say, I don’t want you to be able to vote,” Battle told the Lynnwood Times.
Battle added that he wants readers to know that this weaponization of the voter challenge process against him is “a new iteration and an old game…. anti-black class warfare.”
“They’re coming after me because I don’t have the resources to defend myself with high-powered lawyers,” Battle shared. “They’re coming after me because I don’t have the resources to have the same level of stability that some people like my opponent or one of my former opponents [Luis Burbano] who decided to show up today has. They’re coming after me because they’ve got deep-pocketed political connections. And that’s been made very clear. It was made very clear when the same person who filed this challenge decided to go walk around and canvass my neighbors and ask about me as if that wasn’t going to make its way back to me from those very same neighbors. When that person decided to stalk outside my apartment complex, making it literally unsafe, not only for me, but also for the people who have helped me out in times of transition.”
Battle alleged to the Lynnwood Times that the person canvassing his residence asking about him was John Dimas, the complainant who filed the voter challenge.
“Mr. Dimas allegedly under the direction of [Everett Councilwoman] Liz Vogeli, his union, and Luis Barbano have engaged in what they call investigations, which amount to nothing, which is admitted by Vogeli herself,” Battle told the Lynnwood Times in a bombshell allegation. “It’s amounted to nothing less than harassment.”
With no formal rulings on legal challenges against Battle from either Snohomish County Auditor Garth Fell nor Honorable Superior Court Judge Richard Okrent on a separate case also filed by Dimas, the Burbano Campaign who failed to advance to the 2025 General Election, announced over the weekend a Campaign Kickoff for September 10, just a day after Battle’s scheduled court hearing.
Special Guest Speakers for the event include Snohomish County Councilwoman Megan Dunn—who just months earlier endorsed Battle—and Demi Chatters, Chair of the City of Everett Planning Commission. Co-hosts for the event are Snohomish County Democrat Party Chair Robin McGee and Everett School Board member Charles Adkins. All of whom are Progressive Democrats—not traditional moderate Democrats—and white except for Chatters and Adkins.
Research by the Lynnwood Times uncovered that Dimas has contributed hundreds of dollars over the years to current District 4 seat holder Liz Vogeli, who is not seeking re-election and who pulled her endorsement from Battle.
Washington state PDC records also show that Battle’s former treasurer Jacob Read, who filed alleged campaign violations against Battle two days prior to Dimas’ voter challenge and court filing to remove Battle from the General Election ballot, has been paid $6,657.92 for campaign services by Everett School Board member Charles Adkins who is co-hosting the September 10 kickoff of Burbano who didn’t advance for the General Election in November. Read is also the treasurer for the 38th LD Democrats.
This recent Campaign kickoff announcement comes just weeks after Everett City Council members Liz Vogeli (current representative of District 4) and Paula Rhyne pulled their endorsements from Battle. Rhyne is the Legislative Aide to Snohomish County Councilwoman Megan Dunn who is the Guest speaker at Burbano’s September 10 campaign kickoff.
Both Rhyne and Vogeli have shared with the Lynnwood Times for the record that they rescinded their endorsements because of the allegations that have been raised about Battle’s eligibility to run.
“Having everyone come after me with the level of ferocity that they have has only prepared me to defend the constituents of District 4 who have so routinely been forgotten by those at City Hall and by those in downtown, where we are right now,” Battle proudly told the Lynnwood Times. “I’m not afraid of a fight. I’m not afraid of a challenge. That’s why I showed up here today to defend myself and to defend my right to vote. I’m going to take that same vigor to defend the rights of the people in District 4.”
Author: Mario Lotmore
3 Responses
Are they contesting his right to vote or his right to run for office with no proof that he lives in that district?
I have problems with anyone who qualifies themselves by splitting legal hairs. Orwell warns about people who try to pass off as altruistic … they are doing what they are doing for others, nameless people described in general terms. Then, of course, he pulls the race card.
I don’t think that it is asking too much for a person to be able to prove that they live within the area that they wish to vote in as well as represent. The man may have a variety of reasons for seeking office and that is fine; however, determining if that person is a resident of the area that he wishes to represent is not a racial issue.
Why does he want to “represent the district” so badly when he doesn’t even live there! Garth Fell needs to do right and remove this person from the ballot. Granted Battle would make an excellent politician by the ease in which he lies to people’s faces. Maybe a federal investigation is in order since they keep playing these games. Wonder if the FBI would be interested in perhaps financial fraud going on…
I am on Battle’s side. A lot of people live couch surfing, and the South end needs representation. We aren’t getting that in Everett from an all-white CC. Also he won his primary. It’s my hope that he runs again for city council and that he is allowed to do so undisturbed like so many white candidates do and have done. Snohomish County is full of cities that would rather flip their lids than let back people onto their councils. It’s lame.