Snohomish County Auditor Garth Fell dismissed a Lynnwood resident’s challenge of City Councilmember Josh Binda’s voter registration after Binda provided documents certifying his Lynnwood address. 

In February, Lynnwood resident Diodato Boucsieguez filed a challenge against Binda’s voter registration status in the state of Washington. He argued that Binda did not live in Lynnwood, which is required by state law to hold elected office on the city level. Boucsieguez, who also led a “Recall Binda” movement in 2023, called on the county auditor to remove Binda’s status as a legally registered voter. 

On March 25, the day of the hearing, Councilmember Binda updated his voter registration with a Lynnwood address for an apartment on 40th Avenue West. Binda had up until the hearing to update his registration, Fell wrote April 15 in his decision on the hearing. To prove he lived at the address in his updated registration, Binda provided a certificate of renter’s insurance for the 40th Avenue apartment dated Feb. 11. The renter’s insurance, however, is in his father’s name. 

Binda told Lynnwood Today he waited until the day of the hearing to update his registration for safety reasons. 

Fell dismissed the case, saying Boucsieguez’s evidence involved the Everett address and a 52nd Avenue West address listed on Binda’s most recent registration prior to the hearing. The auditor’s duty was to decide the status of Binda’s current registration –which was the 40th Avenue apartment at the time of the hearing– not the address on his prior registration. 

“Mr. Boucsieguez bears the burden of demonstrating by clear, cogent and convincing evidence that Mr. Binda does not reside at the address where he is registered,” Fell wrote in his decision following the hearing. “While Mr. Boucsieguez made several arguments regarding Mr. Binda’s residency at 19888 40th Ave. W, those arguments were not supported by sworn declarations or other evidence sufficient to overcome the presumption that Mr. Binda physically resides at the address where he is registered. Because the challenger has not met his burden, the voter registration challenge is dismissed.”

A recording of the hearing was not available on the Snohomish County Auditor’s website and the county had not yet fulfilled Lynnwood Today’s public record request for the recording at the time of reporting. As a result, it’s unclear what arguments Boucsieguez made regarding the address on Binda’s updated voter registration. Boucsieguez did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Binda also provided pay stubs and a phone bill from February and March addressed to the 52nd Avenue apartment where he said he lived with his aunt after being evicted. 

“I’m grateful to be moving forward and doing the amazing work for my residents, doing amazing work for my community, and to stop having these political, right-wing MAGA attacks towards me,” Binda said Tuesday in an interview with Lynnwood Today. 

This hearing followed public concern and conversation among city council members following an article published Jan. 27 by the Lynnwood Times. The article alleged that Councilmember Binda did not live in Lynnwood after being evicted from his apartment in October 2023. The author conducted an in-depth investigation into Binda’s residence, stating the councilmember was living in an apartment in Everett he listed on financial and federal documents. 

Some members of the public called on Binda to step down from the council as a result of the allegations. This, among other recent events, prompted the council to discuss potentially clarifying the city’s code around requirements to hold elected office in Lynnwood.

Binda unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2024 against incumbent Sen. Rick Larsen. He said he used his father’s address in Everett on his federal candidacy documents – and other financial documents – for safety reasons. Binda also said he watched his father’s apartment for a month and a half while his father was out of the country, explaining why Binda was seen at the apartment during the Lynnwood Times investigation on the matter. 

“I’ve been in Lynnwood the entire time,” Binda said Tuesday. “… I want that to be clear cut. There was not a time frame where I was living outside of Lynnwood.” 

As required by the county when challenging someone’s voter registration, Boucsieguez said he sent eight letters on Jan. 29 to the 52nd Avenue address listed on Binda’s registration at the time. 

“On or about 30 January 2025, letter to the residence in the [Voter’s Registration Database] VRDB started being returned to me marked ‘Return to Sender – Not Deliverable as Addressed – Unable to Forward,’” Boucsieguez wrote in his challenge. “I am still awaiting a few of them back as the letters are being held by the Post Office for signature pickup.” 

Boucsieguez included Binda’s federal candidacy documents from his run for Congress as evidence, along with copies of financial disclosures associated with Binda’s seat on the council. Binda listed his father’s Everett address on both pieces of evidence. 

Boucsieguez also included U.S. Postal Service receipts of the letters he sent to the 52nd Avenue address, and a copy of the Lynnwood Times article on Binda’s residence. Additionally, he included a copy of a protection order filed by Binda in January against Mario Lotmore, the publisher of the Lynnwood Times. A county judge dismissed the order. 

Binda listed the same Everett address on his financial documents as his mailing address in the protection order. He listed the Lynnwood address he was evicted from as the protected address.

Boucsieguez said he canvassed the 52nd Avenue address Jan 29. None of the residents in the apartment complex said they recognized Binda or knew of him living there, he wrote in his challenge.  

All of this evidence pointed to Binda living in Everett, not at the Lynnwood address in his voter registration, Boucsieguez said. 

“This voter [Josh Binda] meets the requirements for a successful voter challenge under RCW 29A.08.810,” he wrote. “It is therefore respectfully requested the voter be removed forthwith from the roll or the government show good cause in writing why the voter may not be so removed from the roll.” 

The evidence Binda provided to solidify his address are all from February and March. He did not provide any evidence dated before the Lynnwood Times article questioning Binda’s residency was published. 

“I was still living there technically before,” Binda said during the interview.  “I didn’t change my address, yeah, until recently.” 

When responding to concerns over not providing proof of address dating between his eviction in 2023 and when his residency was investigated in January, Binda said: “I’m not here to play that game. I gave my evidence. I’m not here to play devil’s advocate, I’m here to be over the city and I already handled that.” 

Binda said he believes the extensive investigation into where he lives was a “strategized” effort from Boucsieguez, a previous contributor to the Lynnwood Times, and Lotmore, the publisher. 

“I want to address that this has been a nonstop attack by Mario Lotmore with the Times, as well as Boucsieguez, the head of the recall, to try and discredit me and get me off the ballot because they don’t want me to be running again,” Binda said. Binda is up for reelection in November, but he did not confirm whether he plans to run again. 

He said he’s “looking forward to accountability” from Lotmore. “I’m hoping he does full retractions on stories of their inaccuracies and other things that were not true.”

Lotmore did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

The beginning of Binda’s time on the council was shrouded in controversy, after it was revealed Binda spent campaign funds on personal expenses. He was also criticized and asked to resign after posting a shirtless photo on his Instagram account he concurrently used to promote his work as a city councilmember. 

According to the Public Disclosure Commission, Binda still owes $3,000 in PDC fines after he failed to file his F1 paperwork for 2022. Binda said those fines are “being handled,” and he plans to pay them this week. 

“Over half the politicians have PDC fines,” Binda said. “This is not an unusual thing, little mistakes happen. …the fact that it’s been weaponized to attack me solely as the only solely young person, one of the BIPOC members of the council, has been very disheartening to see.” 

Binda said he’s learned from the controversy and trials he faced in his time on the council. He said he’s working to make sure he doesn’t repeat these mistakes. He mentioned he filed his F1 paperwork for 2024. 

“I mean, I got into office four years ago when I was 21,” he said. “I didn’t know the PDC as much. …I think I’ve become more familiar with the process and everything now that I’ve been on the council for four years.” 

Binda said he’s looking forward to continuing his work on the council, specifically with the Lynnwood Youth Council that he and Councilmember Derica Escamilla are working on. 

“I’m just grateful for the auditor and his diligent, you know, conclusion of the situation,” Binda said. “I’m glad to put this behind me and continue doing the work of the community.” 

The auditor’s decision and all evidence provided in the case can be found here. 

— Contact Ashley at ashley@myedmondsnews.com.