Auditor tells Eyman to edit his statement for voter guide
EVERETT — Tim Eyman must do some serious editing if he wants voters in Snohomish County to read in their election pamphlets why he’s running for governor.
Snohomish County Auditor Garth Fell on Tuesday told Eyman that his candidate statement won’t appear in the printed guide, sent to roughly 500,000 voters, unless references to Gov. Jay Inslee are removed.
Fell gave Eyman 48 hours to turn in a new version or appeal the auditor’s decision to the county prosecutor. Eyman said he’s appealing.
“It’s blatant government censorship,” he said, adding that complying would give readers “diluted, sanitized, government-approved wording.”
State law prescribes candidates talk about themselves in the statements and permits counties to adopt their own rules on the boundaries of acceptable content.
Snohomish County administrative rules say candidates are supposed to address issues and their ideas and not use obscene, inappropriate or libelous language. And they are not supposed to “comment on or make any judgments about opponents or incumbents. The County Auditor has the authority to reject statements that are deemed inappropriate.”
In his letter to Eyman, Fell highlighted statements and sentences with references to the governor that would need retooling. In most cases, Inslee is identified directly, though one line refers to Washington having “a Seattle Legislature, Seattle Supreme Court and a Seattle Governor.” In all, 160 of the 300-word statement are in yellow.
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