More than 660,000 ballots were mailed Thursday to absentee voters for Washington’s first Top 2 primary. Ballots were mailed to voters serving in the military, living overseas and out of state on July 18 to allow extra transit time for delivery.
New this primary, King County Elections is piloting seven, 24-hour ballot drop boxes throughout the county. Six of these boxes are located at King County Library locations in Bellevue, Black Diamond, Des Moines, Fall City, Lake Forest Park, and Algona-Pacific. The seventh box is located in downtown Seattle at the King County Administration Building.
All drop boxes will be open 24 hours each day, beginning on Aug. 1 and will close at 8 p.m. on Aug. 19, Election Day. For more information, visit http://www.kingcounty.gov/elections/voting/ballotdropboxes.aspx.
This year’s primary differs from past primaries. The Top 2 Primary allows voters to choose among all candidates running for each office. Voters do not have to declare a party affiliation to vote. After all ballots are counted, the two candidates who receive the most votes in the primary qualify for the General Election. Candidates must also receive at least 1 percent of the votes cast in that race to advance to the General Election.
Voters signed up to receive a mail ballot should receive their ballot at their registered mailing address by Friday, Aug. 8. For more information on voting by mail or to receive your ballot by mail, call 206-296-VOTE (8683) or visit http://www.kingcounty.gov/vote.
To vote in the primary, new residents to Washington have until August 4 to register to vote in-person at the King County Elections office or at any King County Community Service Center.
To accommodate last minute, in-person voter registrations, King County Elections will have Saturday office hours on Aug. 2 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. King County Elections will also be open on Aug. 16 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to assist voters.
In-person accessible voting is available for all voters starting Thursday, July 31 through Aug. 18 at King County Elections’ Renton office weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. On Tuesday, Aug. 19 Election Day, in-person accessible voting is available from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Accessible voting units provide an audio and touch-screen ballot in English and Chinese. With large font, high contrast and a key pad device, voting is made easy for voters with disabilities. All voters are welcome to vote using an accessible voting unit.
King County Elections is located at 919 SW Grady Way in Renton and is accessible on Metro bus route 140.
