‘They just left the ballot blank’: Future 42’s Steve Gordon warns undervoting could shape WA’s Supreme Court once again

As Washington’s Supreme Court races draw closer, a growing effort is underway to educate voters about the justices on their ballots and push back against what some see as an increasingly one-sided court.

Steve Gordon of Future 42 joined “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio to explain Future 42’s push to inform voters and encourage a more balanced state Supreme Court.

“If you reach the people in the middle, people that believe in free markets, believe in public safety, a better future for their kids, there’s a mechanism for them to push back,” Gordon said. “That just hasn’t been there. If we’re able to do that, it will give people some hope that they need around here. We all know people that are leaving the state. There’s a lot, contrary to what you hear from folks that say nobody’s leaving; there are a lot of people leaving, and so we want people to stick around, stay in the fight.”

Conversation turns to a factor that can decide close races: the undervote

Curley explained how voters tend to vote for Supreme Court justices, with a third of voters choosing the person based upon their name, another third making an informed decision, or “hopefully somewhat informed,” and the last third being the undervote, leaving the box completely blank.

“Dave Larson would be on the Supreme Court if it wasn’t for the undervote in 2024, and it mostly came from Eastern Washington,” Gordon said.

“Describe what undervote is,” Curley responded.

“People who voted for president, voted for governor, and they just left the Supreme Court ballot blank,” Gordon replied. “They didn’t fill in a name. That’s part of the effort that we form with Full Court Press, trying to educate the public. We just want people to know who the folks are, and certainly folks who will uphold the Constitution and not try to make policy from the bench.”

Gordon cites this year’s races as a prime example of his concerns

Gordon pointed to the upcoming races as a great example, raising concerns about two justices’ close ties to the governor.

“It’s a real game because, like this year, we’ve got two newly appointed judges; both of them have deep ties with Governor Bob Ferguson,” Gordon said. “One of them worked with him at K&L Gates, the other one worked directly for him when he was in the AG’s office. It’s not even the appearance that it’s unbiased or somebody that’s from a pool of folks that have no connection. If you want Bob Ferguson’s policies continued, he’s picked people that are very familiar with his policy leanings to be on the Supreme Court.

“We have to educate a lot of voters, and you know, and make your own choice,” he continued. “There’s folks who want a progressive court, and that’s basically what we have here. But the polling that we’ve done says that’s not really what folks want. They want a balanced court, and that’s not what they perceive that we have.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

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