Lacey City Council member and Thurston County commissioner candidate Nic Dunning is eligible to vote and to run for office, Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall ruled Thursday.
Hall held a hearing on May 28 after Olympia resident Jim Cooper filed a challenge with the Thurston County Auditor’s Office on May 8 alleging that Dunning resides at an address different from the one he listed on his voter registration.
The address listed on Dunning’s voter registration, 5823 Lacey Boulevard SE in Lacey, is the same address listed for Dunning’s business, West Coast Fitness.
Cooper alleged that Dunning actually resided at another property Dunning owns, 9032 22nd Way SE in Lacey.
Under Washington state law, a voter may lose their right to vote if they do not live at the residential address provided on their voter registration. If Dunning lost his right to vote, he would not be eligible to maintain his seat on Lacey City Council or run for the District 5 seat he is pursuing on the Thurston County Board of Commissioners.
Dunning confirmed during a hearing on May 28 that he does own the 22nd Way SE residence, but that he does not reside there at this time. He instead lives in a rented on-site apartment at the West Coast Fitness Gym on Lacey Boulevard SE.
In her written decision published after the May 28 hearing, Hall found that Cooper failed to meet the burden of proof that Dunning does not live at the address listed on his voter registration.
“The Challenger did not prove to a standard of clear and convincing evidence that the Challenged Voter does not reside at 5823 Lacey Blvd SE, Lacey, Washington,” Hall wrote in her decision.
Hall clarified that her office does not have the legal authority to comment on Dunning’s overall eligibility to run for office, or on whether living at the same address of his business violates any municipal codes.
“Washington state's election laws recognize that a person cannot be disqualified to vote because the voter ‘lacks a traditional residential address,’” Hall wrote, citing RCW 29A.08.112 as the applicable state law.
“The Auditor's decision is limited only to the determination of the validity of the Challenged Voter's current voter registration at the time the challenge was lodged,” Hall added.
When previously asked for comment about the challenge to his voter registration, Dunning said the challenge “appears politically motivated” given that it was filed the day after he filed his candidacy with the Washington Secretary of State.
Dunning and another challenger, Michelle Gipson, are vying to unseat current District 5 Commissioner Emily Clouse.
Clouse, Dunning and Gipson are expected to face off in Washington’s top-two primary in August.
The two candidates who receive the most votes will move on to the general election in November.
