We have a Charter Review Commission because the Clallam County Charter requires a review by an elected review commission. The review commissioners discuss changes to the Charter and may recommend amendments. The proposed amendments must be approved by the voters.

Since Clallam County adopted a Charter (1976), there have been seven elected charter review commissions.

The commission is composed of 15 citizens — five from each district — who serve for one year. Voters only vote for candidates in their district. District 1 (Sequim to eastern Clallam County boundary) will list 10 candidates for the charter review commission.

District 2 (west of Sequim to eastern Port Angeles) will list 15 candidates and District 3 (west Port Angeles to Clallam County western boundary) will list 10.

You are allowed to vote for five.

A charter allows county citizens to decide how their local county government will operate. Counties without charters are governed under the general laws of the state.

A county that chooses to have a charter can decide its own governmental structure, subject to the Constitution and laws of the state. For example, Clallam County has partisan commissioners, but other charter counties have chosen to have nonpartisan commissioners.

Clallam County’s government is a commissioner form, in which the three elected commissioners set county policies, adopt ordinances, and carry out the day-to-day operations of the county.

Our charter mandates a charter review commission be elected every five years to evaluate the current county system and propose changes. All other Charter Counties review their charter every 10 years.

The first meeting of the newly elected charter review commissioners will be January, 2025. Previous commissions have met about once a month and allow public input at all regular meetings.

Language of proposed changes to the current charter must be submitted to the auditor’s office by July or August and will be voted on, by the public, on the November, 2025 ballot.

There are three ways to put a charter amendment on the ballot: (1) a proposal by a charter review commission, (2) a citizen initiative and (3) an amendment proposed by county commissioners. All require a majority vote of the public to be adopted.

Since 1983, voters have approved 36 amendments.

By Sue Erzen, Lucy Copass and Norma Turner, on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Clallam County. Learn more about the League of Women Voters of Clallam County at lwvcla.clubexpress.com.