The general election voting season has arrived.
Ballots for the Nov. 8 election should begin reaching voters today after they were mailed Wednesday.
Elections Supervisor Shoona Radon said Wednesday morning that 45,702 ballots went out to Clallam County voters countywide.
K&H printers of Everett, hired to print the ballots for about $13,000, delivered the ballots to the Kent post office at about 9 a.m. Wednesday, Radon said.
All ballots should be delivered to voters’ mailboxes by Monday, county Auditor Patty Rosand said.
Anyone who does not receive a ballot by Monday should phone the Auditor’s Office at 360-417-2221 or email jridgway@co.clallam.wa.us.
Now voters have until Election Day, Nov. 8, to cast their ballots in at least one of 16 contested races.
All county voters will receive a ballot with at least one contest: the race for Sequim District 1 Clallam County commissioner between Democrat Linda Barnfather, 48, an executive legislative assistant to Democratic 24th District state Rep. Kevin Van De Wege, and Republican Jim McEntire, 61, a Port of Port Angeles commissioner.
The ballot contains 48 contested and non-contested races, with voters casting ballots on those races depending on where they live.
Ballots of all county voters also will contain two proposed amendments to the state Constitution that were generated by the state Legislature and three statewide initiatives.
Voters from Clallam Bay to Sequim will decide on various tax-district races for positions on the Port Angeles, Sequim and Forks city councils to the Olympic Medical Center hospital district to Clallam Bay-Sekiu Fire District No. 5.
Voter guide
Included in Friday’s edition of the Peninsula Daily News will be the North Olympic Peninsula Voter Guide, which contains profiles of candidates in contested races, descriptions of the positions that are up for grabs and the candidates’ answers to extensive election questionnaires.
The election is expected to cost “in the $110,000 range, possibly more,” Clallam County Auditor Patty Rosand said.
The state of Washington and county taxing districts pay their pro-rated share of election costs according to the number of voters in the district and the number of items on the ballot, Rosand said.
Districts pay whether a race is contested or not because ballots still must include non-contested, single-candidate races.
That means the Port of Port Angeles, which has one uncontested race involving lone candidate Jim Hallett, will pay about $30,000 in election costs, the same as Clallam County, which has the countywide McEntire-Barnfather race.
The number of candidates in contested races is not unusual, Rosand said.
“It’s about what we expected in an off-year election,” she said.
The courthouse will be open until about 8 p.m., when the ballots will be counted, though results will also be online at www.peninsuladailynews.com.
Contested races on the ballot include two races on the Olympic Medical Center board of commissioners and three on the Port Angeles City Council.
Incumbent Cherie Kidd was running against Cody Blevins until he dropped out of the race, though his name appears on the ballot, which had already been printed when Blevins changed his mind.
Contested races
Contested races also include three seats on the Sequim City Council, one on the Forks City Council, one on the Port Angeles School Board, one on the Sequim School Board, two including a write-in candidate for the Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center board and one on the Clallam Bay-Sekiu Fire District 5 commission.
Voters have until 8 p.m. Election Day to get their ballots postmarked or dropped off at the Clallam County Auditor’s Office or courthouse drop box, 223 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles.
Other drop box locations are as follows:
■ Sequim Motor Vehicle Licensing Office, 1001 E. Washington St., Suite 5, Sequim.
■ Sequim City Hall, 152 W. Cedar St., Sequim.
■ Forks District Court lobby, 502 E. Division St., Forks.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-417-3536 or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
