Ballots are due by 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, and Seattle residents face a packed slate.

Proposition 1, the Seattle Transit Measure (STM), asks voters to replace the city's expiring 0.15% transit sales tax with a 0.3% tax for up to 10 years. The current tax expires March 31, 2027. If approved, the measure would fund more frequent bus service, affordable fare programs, enhanced RapidRide routes and support for Sound Transit expansion, according to the city's STM page.

Mayor Katie Wilson proposed the renewal June 2. The City Council unanimously approved placing it on the ballot July 21. Wilson said the package "respects people's hard-earned dollars and brings 100,000 more bus trips to Seattle every year," KOMO reported. If passed, the measure would also fund 22,000 free transit passes for low-income households, according to KOMO's account of Wilson's statement.

District 7 Councilmember Bob Kettle, who represents Queen Anne, Magnolia and Ballard, pushed to scale the measure back to 0.2% during council deliberations in July. His amendment did not prevail. The Urbanist first reported that Kettle's version would have cut roughly half a billion dollars in transit funding over 10 years.

District 5 council race

The only Seattle City Council seat on the ballot is District 5, covering North Seattle neighborhoods including Lake City, Broadview and sections of Aurora Avenue North. Nilu Jenks and Julie Kang advanced from the August primary, where Jenks led with about 54% of the vote, KNKX reported.

The seat opened after Councilmember Cathy Moore resigned in 2025 for health and personal reasons. The council appointed former Councilmember Debora Juarez to fill it temporarily. The winner serves only through 2027 and must run again for a full four-year term.

Jenks, political and partnership director for the nonprofit FairVote Washington, has called for 1,000 affordable housing units in the district. She opposes police surveillance cameras along Aurora. Kang, an educator at Seattle University who co-founded Pacific International Bank, supports CCTV cameras with privacy protections and the "stay out" prostitution zone on Aurora, according to The Seattle Times. Both want more police in North Seattle and a stronger CARE Department crisis response.

The outcome could shift the council's ideological balance. The Center Square reported the nine-member council has three progressive members and six moderates. Jenks is endorsed by Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck; Kang is endorsed by Kettle and Council President Hollingsworth.

Statewide initiatives

Three measures appear on every Washington ballot, according to The Daily UW's voter guide:

  • Initiative IP26-645 would repeal the state's 9.9% tax on individual income exceeding $1 million.
  • Initiative IL26-638 would bar students defined as "biologically male" from girls' school sports and require medical documentation of sex.
  • Initiative IL26-001 would repeal 2024 amendments to the state's parents' rights law.

How to vote

Drop boxes and vote centers close at 8 p.m. sharp on Nov. 3. King County Elections added 15 drop boxes this year, bringing the countywide total to 100. New locations near Queen Anne and Ballard include Phinney Ridge at 62nd and Phinney and Belltown on 4th Avenue between Bell and Blanchard, according to King County Elections.

Mailed ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 3. King County Elections projects 75% turnout, or about 1.1 million ballots from 1.45 million registered voters.

Results will be posted after 8 p.m. Nov. 3 at the King County Elections results page. Only one posting is planned for election night. Updates continue on weekdays at 4 p.m. through Nov. 24, when the election is certified.