Cascadia today: Judge rejects feds request for WA ballots + new book Sasquatch Country explores myth and reality + Idaho chooses official state gun

Judge rules feds' request for WA ballots invalid

A federal judge ruled yesterday that the US department of justice can't demand Washington hand over about 400 mid-term ballots from voters it claims are not citizens, Washington State Standard reports. The last minute effort to nab the ballots was issued by US attorneys in eastern and western Washington, Charles Neil Floyd and Pete Serrano. The ruling comes after the US supreme court tossed out a similar attempt to seize ballots in California, most of which were valid.

“[A] dumpster fire disguised as a legal document.” --Washington state secretary of state Steve Hobbs describing the fed's letter attempting to seize ballots

Dems gains supermajority in WA house

Washington State Standard reports that Democrats in the Washington state house flipped enough districts to gain a supermajority of 66 of 98 seats. Yesterday, I incorrectly reported that the full legislature would gain a supermajority, but as the Urbanist reported this week, the Democrats in the WA senate fell short of that goal (but still have a comfortable majority).

OR passes school & fire measures, Idaho picks state gun

In various and sundry election results from across Cascadia, Oregon Capital Chronicle reports that voters passed most local school and wildfire response levies across the state. Shannon Singleton was elected Multnomah County Commissioner, to head the state's most populous county, OPB reports. In Montana, Democrat and smokejumping firefighter Sam Forstag won the race for the state's lone seat in the US Congress.

And in Idaho, voters rejected a ballot measure that would have legalized abortion, Idaho Capital Sun reports. The state also voted on the important matter of what Idaho's "official state gun" will be. The winner was the 1873 Winchester, the rifle that helped the US carry out its genocidal war on Indigenous people across western North America. Sadly, the gun that helped defeat the fascists in World War 2, the M1 Garand, came in last. Because, Idaho.

Seattle council member now supports veto of RV ban

The Stranger reports that Seattle council member Rob Saka, of the centrist coalition on the council, has switched sides and will support mayor Katie Wilson's veto of a bill that would have banned RV camping by homeless people. Meanwhile, the city council is debating the next budget, which they've loaded up with all sorts of add-ons in contract to socialist mayor Wilson who offered a balanced budget. Hilarious how the centrists whine about an "austerity budget" when it doesn't include the exorbitant increases in police funding they want.

New book on Sasquatch country getting national buzz

A new nonfiction book by Chuck Thompson, editor of Columbia Insight, is getting some advance buzz across the US. The book, Sasquatch Country, looks into an incident in which two hikers died on a hike in the Gifford Pinchot national forest of southwest Washington in December 2024. The media inaccurately reported that the two men were "Sasquatch hunters," and the story went viral on social media. Thompson looks into the true story and tells a tale of volunteer search and rescue missions, media sensationalism, and the dangers of Cascadia's wilderness. Thompson reads from his new book at 7 pm Nov 17 at Powell's City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside St., Portland.

Thanks for reading. Keep fighting and keep loving. --Andy