In August, the Federal Way Mirror in Washington State said of their close 30th District state house election, "this race may be the most interesting to watch. Two good, smart candidates who know the issues and will run a very clean race." 
 
 It was a race to watch, but not for the reason they predicted. 
 
 The incumbent Democratic state Rep. Roger Freeman — one of two black representatives in the state legislature — died at the end of October at the age of 48. Around 15 percent of the district's voters had already mailed in their ballots, and at the end of Election night he had a six-point-lead over his Republican opponent, Jack Dovey. 
 
 The death was so recent that most voters were simply unaware that it had happened, and voted for the incumbent or on a party line. Local news station KVAL spoke to one such person on Tuesday night. 
 
 Voter Steven Hinz cast a ballot for Freeman because he didn't know the candidate had died. "I did not know that," he said. "When did he pass away?" 
 
 Since Freeman would not be able to effectively serve his terms, the two counties that make up the 30th district will select a temporary legislator from three possibilities offered by local Democrats. A special election would then be held next year. 
 
 Voters elect people whose hearts no longer thump to the beat of democracy more than you'd think. Last year, Oregon voters elected a man to the Aberdeen City Council five months after he died. Missouri elected a dead man who was running unopposed to serve as county commissioner in 2010. Three weeks before the 2000 election, Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan died in a plane crash. When he won a Senate race against John Ashcroft, his widow was appointed to take his place. 
 
 Hackensack High School Principal Joseph DeFalco died after the polls had opened in 2005, and was elected to the city council for a four-year term he could not complete, or even start. In 1998, a dead woman, Jacquelyn Morrow Lewis Ledgerwood, made it to a run-off in the Oklahoma Senate's Democratic primary. 
 
 The New York Times reported at the time, ||||| November 4, 2014 at 11:00 PM 
 
 Roger Freeman, a Democratic state representative from Federal Way, appeared headed for victory Tuesday despite dying six days ago. 
 
 Tuesday’s ballot results put Freeman, a first-term incumbent for the 30th legislative district that spans parts of King and Pierce Counties, ahead by six percentage points over his Republican challenger, Jack Dovey. 
 
 Freeman’s apparent victory leaves a decision for filling the vacant House seat to the King and Pierce County Councils, which must jointly appoint a Democrat to replace Freeman for one year. Freeman’s replacement will be chosen from three nominees put forward by Democratic Party officials in the 30th District. A special election would be set next year for voters to decide on a candidate to fill out the final year of the two-year House term. 
 
 Freeman, 48, a public defender and former Federal Way City Council member, died Wednesday morning after a long battle with colon cancer. He is survived by a wife and two children. ||||| UPDATE: Roger Freeman, who died last week, is leading his race for a seat in the state House of Representatives. Early results show Freeman is taking 53 percent of the vote. 
 
 FEDERAL WAY, Wash. -- There's an unusual twist in the race for state house in the 30th district of Federal Way. The democratic incumbent died from cancer last week, but Rep. Roger Freeman's name is still on the ballot -- and he's still getting votes. 
 
 
 
 Freeman was battling to retain his seat in the state legislature. He was also battling colon cancer that spread to his liver and lungs. He lost that battle last Wednesday 
 
 
 
 "It's a day to remember Roger Freeman. It's a day to remember how he made us feel," said Freeman's legislative director, Martin Moore. 
 
 
 
 Jack Dovey is Freeman's Republican challenger. 
 
 
 
 "It's a tragic thing that happened," Dovey said. 
 
 
 
 Freeman's name is still on the ballot and is still getting support. Voter Steven Hinz cast a ballot for Freeman because he didn't know the candidate had died. 
 
 
 
 "I did not know that," he said. "When did he pass away?" 
 
 
 
 Even though word of Freeman's death spread throughout the community last week, obviously not everyone knows about it. 
 
 
 
 "I voted for Freeman,"said Robert Zielie, who also didn't realize Freeman was dead. 
 
 
 
 But Freeman's supporters still want folks to vote for him, because if he wins he'd be replaced by a democrat. The democratic precinct leaders would offer three potential replacements to the county councils of King and Pierce counties who would select one. If no agreement is reached, the governor gets to choose. 
 
 
 
 Dovey says he'd rather see Freeman waving signs with him. 
 
 
 
 "It's a lot easier running against the person than the party," he said. 
 
 
 
 So Freeman's campaign says vote for Roger even though he's no longer with us. 
 
 
 
 "I think that's something that he would personally want," Moore said. ||||| 5 things to know about Washington state's election 
 
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 SEATTLE (AP) - Washington voters won't be electing a governor or U.S. senator this election, but they will weigh in on issues like gun background checks and class sizes. And voters in central Washington will see a first for the state - two members of the same party on the fall ballot in a congressional race. 
 
 
 
 Here's a look at 5 things to know about the general election: 
 
 
 
 GUN MEASURES: Voters will decide the fate of two competing gun background check initiatives. One, Initiative 594, seeks universal background checks on all sales and transfers, including private transactions and many loans and gifts. The other, Initiative 591, would prevent the state from expanding checks beyond the national standard. Like federal law, Washington law currently requires checks for sales or transfers by licensed dealers but not for purchases from private sellers, like those who sell at gun shows or to friends. No other state has a gun-related measure on the ballot this year, and millions of dollars have been pouring into the state, mostly in support of expanding background checks. I-591 also would prohibit the confiscation of firearms without due process. 
 
 
 
 REPUBLICAN VERSUS REPUBLICAN: The most interesting congressional race in the state is also the one where one party is guaranteed to have the winner. Washington's 4th Congressional District features two Republicans on the fall ballot - the first time that's happened in a federal race under the state's 'Top 2' primary system. Tea party favorite Clint Didier is in a tight contest against Dan Newhouse, backed by the Republican mainstream. Newhouse has said he would focus on central Washington priorities such as water conservation and cleaning up the giant Hanford Nuclear Reservation, while Didier ran largely against the political establishment in the nation's capital, including some fellow Republicans, who he terms "RINOs," Republicans in name only. 
 
 
 
 SENATE CONTROL: For the last two legislative sessions, Republicans have controlled state Senate with the help of two Democrats who left their party to caucus with the GOP. Republicans hope to gain outright control of the upper chamber following Tuesday's election. Currently, the state Senate is split 26-23, technically with the majority lying with Democrats. But in 2012, two Democrats joined the Republicans to form a mostly GOP-controlled coalition, sending Democrats to the minority. The Democrats need to win two or more seats to regain control of the Senate, but Republicans had strong showings in the primary. Unlike the Senate, the House has not changed majority in more than a decade. This election is not expected to be different. The Democrats in that chamber currently hold a 55-43 majority. 
 
 
 
 CLASS SIZE: Voters in Washington state will vote yet again on class sizes. Education advocates are pushing a measure limiting class sizes, but opponents say Initiative 1351 could make a bad budget situation worse as lawmakers scramble to pay for court-ordered reforms. State financial experts believe the initiative would eventually cost the state about $2 billion a year to pay for thousands more teachers and other school staff. Washington voters overwhelmingly approved another class size reduction initiative in 2000, and 14 years later, lawmakers are just starting to pay that bill. This initiative is different, in both its scope and the way it was written. Initiative 1351 would set lower class sizes at every grade level. The previous initiative focused on the youngest grades. 
 
 
 
 VOTE BY MAIL: Washington, like Oregon, is an all vote-by-mail state. But unlike Oregon - where ballots have to be received by Election Day - in Washington, ballots just have to be postmarked no later than Election Day or placed in an official ballot drop box by 8 p.m. Tuesday. That means that in some of the more competitive races, results may not be known for days as most counties will update vote counts only once a day. ||||| SEATTLE — An incumbent Democratic state representative in Washington was headed for a decisive re-election victory on Wednesday even though he died last week, results indicate. 
 
 Roger Freeman, a first-term representative from Federal Way, a city between Seattle and Tacoma, had about 53 percent of the vote, compared to about 47 percent for his Republican challenger, Jack Dovey. Freeman, 48, died last week after a battle with cancer. His death came after ballots were mailed to Washington voters, where all voting is done by mail. 
 
 "This is extremely rare," said Brian Zylstra, a spokesman for the secretary of state's office. "But there are protocols in place." Once all ballots are finalized in coming weeks, if Freeman wins the vote, Democrats still will hold on to his seat in the state House of Representatives, Zylstra said. 
 
 Democrats in Freeman's district, which spans two counties, will select three names for a temporary replacement and the King and Pierce County councils will vote to appoint one of those candidates to the seat for one year, according to state election rules. The seat would be on the ballot in 2015 to fill out the remainder of the two-year term, the rules say. 
 
 Should the Republican candidate win, he will take the seat in Olympia at the start of the next legislative session. 
 
 Roger Freeman a Democratic state representative in Washington, is seen in an undated photo from the U.S. House of Representatives. HANDOUT / Reuters 
 
 IN-DEPTH 
 
 — Reuters
– Election results are still trickling in in Washington state (it's a vote-by-mail-only state, KOMO News reports), but it looks like voters are giving Democratic Rep. Roger Freeman of Federal Way a second term with about 53% of the vote, NBC News notes. There's just one problem: The 48-year-old Freeman died last week after a long battle with colon cancer, the Seattle Times reports. Many voters either didn't know Freeman had died or had already sent in their ballots, the Washington Post reports. "I did not know that. When did he pass away?" one voter told KVAL. "This is extremely rare," a spokesman for Washington's secretary of state tells NBC. "But there are protocols in place." Those protocols would be much simpler if voters had simply elected the very much alive Republican candidate, Jack Dovey. However, since Freeman is apparently the victor, Democrats in the district will pick three names to serve as his temporary replacement; the county councils will then vote one of those candidates in to serve for one year, with a special election next year to pick someone for the final year of the two-year term, NBC notes. Dovey, now known as the challenger beat by a deceased candidate, simply tells KVAL, "It's a tragic thing that happened." (This county candidate dropped out of the race after his dead friend supposedly voted for him.)