More than 44,000 ballots are being sent out ahead of the special election on Feb. 10, said Yakima County Auditor Charles Ross.聽
Ballots were sent out to military and overseas voters on Jan. 9, but everyone else should see them around Jan. 23.聽
Washington has been a vote-by-mail state since 2011, conducting all election by mail.聽Ballot boxes close on election night at 8 p.m. but for people sending their ballots by mail, Ross advises them not to wait. In the last two election cycles, the auditor's office has noticed postmarking is taking longer than expected.聽
"We've seen a severe increase in ballots that are too late because the mail is taking many days to be postmarked," Ross said.
Voters also have the option of putting their ballots in official county drop boxes.
"If there's less than a week before the election, please use a drop box," Ross said.
February鈥檚 election has replacement school district levies that fund education programs and operations for Grandview, Mount Adams, Union Gap, Wapato, West Valley and Zillah, a West Valley capital project bond, and a special levy for the Naches Park District. For more information, see the Jan. 15 edition of the Herald-Republic.
People will only get a ballot if they live in one of those districts. The Yakima School District will ask voters to support a bond for school improvement projects in April.
Residents can register to vote until 8 p.m. on election day in person. The online registration deadline is Feb. 2, Ross said.聽
Ross also advised people to sign the outside of the ballot envelope, and to put down the date.聽
"If, for some reason, it doesn't get postmarked, then we can use the date the voter puts," he said.
On the ballots, there's a space where voters can put their phone numbers so they can be contacted by the auditor's office if there are any issues. The number is not public and will only be seen by the election office.聽
If people don't see their ballots by the week of Jan. 26, call the auditor's office聽at聽509-574-1340 to get things worked out, Ross said.聽
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