Nate Sanford
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Nate Sanford
@sanfordnate.bsky.social
Seattle. Reporter for KNKX and Cascade PBS. Covering political power and policy in Washington, often with an emphasis on young adults.

https://www.knkx.org/people/nate-sanford
Reposted by Nate Sanford
This is incredible. King County elections is now saying they have 45,000 ballots left to count. If Wilson gets exactly the same margin of those as she got today she'll take the lead by... 20 votes!
November 8, 2025 at 12:25 AM
Speaking of razon thin races -- this council race between an incumbent conservative Republican and a young pro-choice activist is starting to look like a huge upset for progressives in Spokane:
UPDATE: Dixit just passed Bingle.
November 8, 2025 at 12:20 AM
Reposted by Nate Sanford
Seattle politics nerds explaining the next week of ballot counting
a man is writing on a whiteboard with the words it 's simple math written below him
Alt: a man is writing on a whiteboard with the words it 's simple math written below him
media.tenor.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Reposted by Nate Sanford
According to King County elections they had "a LOT" of dropbox activity in this election (emphasis theirs). They expect there's probably another 230-235K ballots countywide, so probably 115K or so in Seattle. Tonight will be a drop of 50-55K countywide, 25K or so in Seattle.
November 5, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Wilson: “I think we’re feeling really optimistic. We’re expecting the later ballots to trend our way, so we will be out there trying to make sure every vote is counted, very hopeful for a good final result.”
First ballot drop shows Harrell ahead of Wilson 53% to 46%.

Wilson says it’s within the range of what her team expected, and she’s hopeful they’ll catch up as more ballots are counted.
November 5, 2025 at 5:51 AM
First ballot drop shows Harrell ahead of Wilson 53% to 46%.

Wilson says it’s within the range of what her team expected, and she’s hopeful they’ll catch up as more ballots are counted.
November 5, 2025 at 4:50 AM
Packed house at Katie Wilson’s election watch party:
November 5, 2025 at 3:45 AM
Reposted by Nate Sanford
Less than 20% of registered voters across WA had returned their ballots as of 5 p.m. Monday. That puts the state on track for record low turnout. Data shows returns lagging even in places with high-profile contests for offices like county executive and mayor. Voters can return ballots until 8 p.m.
November 5, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Reposted by Nate Sanford
Crosscut is dead. Long live Crosscut. Today’s the official last day for me and my Cascade PBS newsroom colleagues. We did good work over the decades and it is supremely sad to see it shut down.
October 31, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Reposted by Nate Sanford
More than two dozen women incarcerated in an Idaho prison told us they were sexually abused by staff.

And we identified 37 prison workers accused of sexual misconduct toward imprisoned women in the last 10 years. Most resigned or faced few consequences. www.investigatewest.org/staff-sexual...
Staff sex abuse in Idaho women’s prisons largely unchecked
InvestigateWest reporting exposes sexual abuse by guards, retaliation against victims and a system that fails to track the scope of the problem
www.investigatewest.org
October 12, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Reposted by Nate Sanford
Shutdown got you down? Bone up on your FOIA strategies at our AccessFest panel at 2:30 EST.

Cracking government secrets: Smart FOIA strategies that work

With @jasonleopold.bsky.social @sanfordnate.bsky.social @fishnette.bsky.social

@ire.org
October 10, 2025 at 4:38 PM
I'm speaking on a panel at IRE's AccessFest today about how to obtain government chatbot records!
hey journos, next Friday you can learn about using FOIA in your reporting at @ire.org's Acess Fest, which takes place in the privacy of your own home! More info here: www.ire.org/training/con...
October 10, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Reposted by Nate Sanford
The last story I edited before Monday's news was @laureldemkovich.bsky.social's excellent examination of Bob Ferguson's first 8 months as governor, a tenure marked by low public approval, decisions baffling to Dems and Republicans, and reduced press availability.
www.cascadepbs.org/politics/202...
The Curse of the Middle Guy: Ferguson’s first 8 months as governor
Expectations were high for Bob Ferguson. For many across the political spectrum, the reality has been baffling and disappointing. What happened?
www.cascadepbs.org
September 24, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Reposted by Nate Sanford
It’s difficult to find the words to express how our unit is feeling right now, but we’ll take a stab at it: shocked, disappointed, angry, gutted. @cascadepbs.bsky.social’s choice to eliminate long-form written reporting is a massive loss for our community in a critical moment. tinyurl.com/LayoffFund
Donate to Support Cascade PBS journalists after online newsroom axed, organized by Isabella Breda
On Monday, Sept. 22, Cascade PBS announced that it would be s… Isabella Breda needs your support for Support Cascade PBS journalists after online newsroom axed
tinyurl.com
September 25, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Reposted by Nate Sanford
Tomorrow, KNKX reporter Nate Stanford will be joining us about ChatGPT logs and how you can obtain them through public records.

Register: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
FOIAFriday
us02web.zoom.us
September 25, 2025 at 3:46 PM
I’ll be talking about my reporting on government AI use on MuckRock’s FOIA Friday podcast this week, and on a panel at @ire.org AccessFest conference next month.

This investigation wouldn’t have been possible without support from the editors + news team who Cascade PBS decided to lay off this week
KNKX Public Radio and Cascade PBS recently obtained thousands of pages of these logs from city officials in Washington state.

Now, MuckRock wants to know what agencies we should request ChatGPT logs from. www.muckrock.com/news/archive...
We want to know how local governments are using ChatGPT. Here’s how you can help.
Help us understand how governments use this latest technology.
www.muckrock.com
September 24, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Reposted by Nate Sanford
MuckRock is requesting ChatGPT logs from local governments across the country. Have a suggestion for us? Let us know!
We want to know how local governments are using ChatGPT. Here’s how you can help.
Help us understand how governments use this latest technology.
www.muckrock.com
September 24, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Reposted by Nate Sanford
Earlier this month, three trans women were beaten by a group of young men in Seattle's gay neighborhood.

According to the county prosecutor's office, there's been at least four more group beatings since June 2024. In one case, strangers joined in. The kicker?

www.thestranger.com/news/2025/09...
Seattle Area Trans Women Are Being Attacked by Groups of Men
Warning: This story contains descriptions of violence. “Go to Pony, go to Pony, go to Pony—there’s more people there,” said a frantic woman as she approached Madison Carstens and her friends next to t...
www.thestranger.com
September 23, 2025 at 9:09 PM
My colleagues at Cascade PBS do essential accountability reporting. This is a huge loss for the community and devastating for local journalism
September 23, 2025 at 12:05 AM
Reposted by Nate Sanford
It's been a bad day! For now I'll just say I can't think of a worse time to have fewer reporters and editors on the job and that I'm very glad to have a union on our side.
September 22, 2025 at 11:20 PM
Reposted by Nate Sanford
Today, I was laid off from Cascade PBS along with my entire team and most of the newsroom. I'll have more to say, but I have loved my time as news editor alongside some of the best journalists I have ever worked with. Every time a newsroom closes, stories go with it. The silence that follows is loud
September 22, 2025 at 11:27 PM
Reposted by Nate Sanford
A dark day for Northwest journalism: @cascadepbs.bsky.social is axing the @cascadepbsnewsroom.bsky.social, laying off 17 people, per internal memo obtained by @kuow.org.

Cascade PBS got ~10% of its budget from Corp. for Public Broadcasting. Unclear why its whole newsroom had to be axed.
September 22, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Reposted by Nate Sanford
BREAKING: Cascade PBS, which operates the website Crosscut, is laying off 19 people, reportedly including its entire news staff. In an email to staff, CEO Rob Dunlop blamed federal cuts, saying the nonprofit is "winding down our longform, written journalism."
September 22, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Cursed Katie Wilson AI YouTube slop thumbnail:
September 19, 2025 at 4:35 PM