Counties in Washington

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Municipal government
Top counties
Top 100 cities by population

Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of elections in the 100 largest cities in America by population and the largest counties that overlap those cities. This encompasses all city, county, judicial, school district, and special district offices appearing on the ballot within those cities. Ballotpedia also covers mayors, city councils, and district attorneys in all state capitals.

This page includes the following resources:

* The county governments covered by Ballotpedia in Washington
* A list and map of counties in Washington
* An overview of local elections in Washington
* An overview of the initiative process in Washington

## Contents

* 1 Counties
* 1.1 County government
* 1.2 Full list of counties
* 1.3 Map of counties
* 2 Elections
* 2.1 2025
* 2.2 2024
* 2.3 2023
* 2.4 2022
* 2.5 2021
* 2.6 2020
* 2.7 2019
* 2.8 2018
* 2.9 2017
* 2.10 2016
* 2.11 2015
* 3 Initiative process availability
* 3.1 Counties
* 3.2 Cities
* 4 See also
* 5 External links
* 6 Footnotes

## Counties[edit]

### County government[edit]

Click the links below for information about county governments in Ballotpedia's coverage scope:

* Government of King County
* Government of Spokane County

### Full list of counties[edit]

According to a 2022 study from the U.S. Census Bureau, this state's local governments consist of 39 counties, 281 cities, towns, and villages, and 1,275 special districts.[1]

The following table defaults to displaying only 25 counties at a time. To change the number of counties displayed, use the drop-down menu above the upper left-hand corner of the table. You can also use the search bar above the upper-right corner of the table to look up a specific county.

County

Clark
San Juan
Benton
Spokane
Wahkiakum
Lewis
Jefferson
Columbia
Kittitas
Snohomish
Yakima
Okanogan
Island
Clallam
Stevens
Pend Oreille
Whatcom
Chelan
Asotin
Ferry
Douglas
Garfield
King
Pacific
Klickitat
Grays Harbor
Cowlitz
Walla Walla
Grant
Adams
Lincoln
Kitsap
Whitman
Skagit
Pierce
Thurston
Franklin
Skamania
Mason

### Map of counties[edit]

Counties in blue on the map below are part of Ballotpedia's county coverage scope:

## Elections[edit]

Click the links below for information about the elections held in each municipality. Please note that this is not a comprehensive list of municipalities that held elections each year in this state; click here to learn more about Ballotpedia's local government coverage scope.

### 2025[edit]

See also: United States municipal elections, 2025 and School board elections, 2025

* Olympia, Washington
* Seattle, Washington
* Spokane, Washington
* King County, Washington
* Washington school board elections

### 2024[edit]

See also: United States municipal elections, 2024 and School board elections, 2024

* Seattle, Washington
* King County, Washington
* Spokane County, Washington

### 2023[edit]

See also: United States municipal elections, 2023 and School board elections, 2023

* Olympia, Washington
* Seattle, Washington
* Spokane, Washington
* King County, Washington
* Spokane County, Washington
* Washington school board elections

### 2022[edit]

See also: United States municipal elections, 2022 and School board elections, 2022

Ballotpedia expanded its coverage of local elections in Washington in 2022. Click here to find your county, or click the links below for additional information about the following municipalities:

* Seattle, Washington
* King County, Washington
* Spokane County, Washington

### 2021[edit]

See also: United States municipal elections, 2021 and School board elections, 2021

* King County, Washington
* Olympia, Washington
* Seattle, Washington
* Washington school board elections

### 2020[edit]

See also: United States municipal elections, 2020 and School board elections, 2020

* King County, Washington

Past elections

* Click here for past election information

### 2019[edit]

See also: United States municipal elections, 2019 and School board elections, 2019
* King County, Washington
* Seattle, Washington
* Washington school board elections

### 2018[edit]

See also: United States municipal elections, 2018 and School board elections, 2018
* King County, Washington
* Seattle, Washington

### 2017[edit]

See also: United States municipal elections, 2017 and School board elections, 2017
* King County, Washington
* Seattle, Washington
* Washington school board elections

### 2016[edit]

See also: United States municipal elections, 2016 and School board elections, 2016

Ballotpedia did not cover any local elections in Washington that year.

### 2015[edit]

See also: United States municipal elections, 2015 and School board elections, 2015
* Seattle, Washington
* Washington school board elections

## Initiative process availability[edit]

See also: Laws governing local ballot measures in Washington

The availability of initiative varies depending on the classification, form of government, and home rule status of a town, city, or county.

### Counties[edit]

General law counties do not have initiative authority, except to petition to adopt a charter. The six home rule charter counties do have authority, and all six have adopted an initiative process.[2]

### Cities[edit]

First class charter cities have a mandated initiative process for charter amendments. A first class charter city may adopt initiative for ordinances in its charter, and all ten have done so.

Second class cities and towns do not have authority to adopt initiative.

Code cities have authority to permit initiative. If a code city exercises that authority, the initiative process is set by state statute. As of 2005, approximately 46 code cities had elected to allow initiative. There is one city, Shelton, which uses the commission form of government and has a mandated initiative process.

The following code cities permit initiative:[3][4]

* Battle Ground
* Bellevue
* Blaine
* Bonney Lake
* Bothell
* Brier
* Burien
* Camas
* Chelan
* Cheney
* Clarkston
* Des Moines
* Edgewood
* Edmonds
* Ellensburg
* Federal Way
* Ferndale
* Goldendale
* Issaquah
* Kelso
* Kent
* Lake Forest Park
* Longview
* Lynnwood
* Mercer Island
* Mill Creek
* Monroe
* Mountlake Terrace
* Mukilteo
* North Bend
* Ocean Shores
* Olympia
* Rainier
* Raymond
* Redmond
* Renton
* Ridgefield
* SeaTac
* Sequim
* Shoreline
* Shelton
* Tukwila
* Tumwater
* Walla Walla
* Wenatchee
* Woodinville

## See also[edit]

Washington | Municipal government | Other local coverage

|
|

* Washington
* Washington elections, 2025
* Public policy in Washington
* Endorsers in Washington

* Top counties
* 100 largest cities
* Current mayors
* Current council officials

* 2025 municipal elections
* School board elections, 2025
* Local ballot measure elections in 2025
* 2025 local judicial elections

## External links[edit]

* Search Google News for this topic
* Washington municipal code library
* Washington state government website

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau, "2022 Census of Governments – Organization," accessed October 16, 2023
2. ↑ Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington, "County Forms of Government," accessed August 23, 2013
3. ↑ Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington, "Initiative and Referendum Guide for Washington Cities and Charter Counties," April 2018
4. ↑ Ballotpedia, "Types & #s of local government by state," September 2012

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