Last Reminder: Vote Today

As if all those yard signs, ads and commercials weren’t enough reminder, it’s Election Day today.

This year’s ballot offers voters a chance to make law as well as to pick candidates. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Washington state voters face some weighty issues on the first page of their ballots. They will decide whether to allow casino-style gambling on Indian land. Restrict commercial fishermen. Limit the way government can make rules affecting private property. Change the way the state’s chief justice and its Fish and Wildlife commissioner are chosen.

When they finish with those issues, Spokane County voters face nothing less than deciding whether to approve a complete overhaul of local government. A proposed city-county charter, developed over the last two years by a Board of Freeholders, would combine the county government and the city of Spokane.

Cities around the state are electing about half their councils. In Spokane, that means contested races for three seats, with Roberta Greene facing Jim Kolva, John Talbott challenging Orville Barnes and Jeff Colliton taking on Bev Numbers.

Resignations also have added partisan contests to the normally non-partisan off-year ballot, which also features school board elections.

Democrat John Roskelley and Republican Martin Burnette are running for the Spokane County commissioner’s seat vacated by Skip Chilberg. Independent Chris Anderson also is on the ballot, although he dropped out of the race in October.

Democrat Mary “Chey” Austin is trying to oust Republican Mark Sterk from the 4th District state House of Representatives seat to which he was appointed after Rep. Mike Padden resigned last spring.

City of Spokane voters also get a jump on next year’s presidential election with a chance to pick from 21 names in the CityVote straw poll.

The list is so long that it stretches over two pages, but voters can punch their ballots for only a single name.

They join voters in Coeur d’Alene, Moscow, Idaho, and 14 other cities around the nation in the first-ever presidential straw poll.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: For the latest election results after the ballot counting starts, call Cityline at 509-458-8800 on a Touch-Tone phone, press 9494 for the Election Hotline, then press the number below: 1: Statewide issues and offices. 2: Spokane County Charter, the county sales tax, county commissioner and Superior Court. 3: Spokane City Council, District 81 Board and spay and neutering initiative. 4: 4th Legislative District and other Valley races. 5: CityVote presidential results. 6: West Plains City Council races and Medical Lake and Cheney school boards. 7: Council races in Deer Park, Spangle, Rockford and Fairfield.

The first results should be available shortly after 8 p.m., Cityline is a free service of The Spokesman-Review, but normal long-distance tolls apply.