SEQUIM — A Sequim woman has broached the idea that the Clallam County Auditor’s Office place more official ballot drop boxes in the Sequim-Dungeness Valley.
The county auditor agrees it would be a good idea but says it couldn’t be accomplished until next year at the earliest.
Right now, there is one box. It is to the northeast of the J.C. Penney store in the Sequim Village Shopping Center at 609 W. Washington St.
Other ballot drop boxes are located in other communities in Clallam County.
“I want more accessibility,” said Janet G. Thomas, 63, of Sequim.
“It has come to my attention that the residents and voting citizens of the east end of Clallam County only have one drop box for returning their election ballots in their community, and it is located in a spot not readily accessible.”
In a Facebook thread, Jim Stoffer of Sequim — who is running unopposed for Sequim School Board District 3 — said: “The bottom line, we have 29,000 residents in the Sequim-Dungeness Valley, [so] one drop box is appalling.”
The Sequim drop box was not moved to the new Sequim Civic Center, as was reported in the North Olympic Peninsula Voter Guide published by the Peninsula Daily News.
A city of Sequim deposit box for utility payments previously located next to the ballot box was moved and is now located on Sequim Avenue behind the public restrooms to the east end of the public parking lot.
In a recent email to Jim McEntire, the Clallam County commissioner who represents the east side the county, Thomas requested the county place additional boxes at the new Sequim Civic Center, in Carlsborg or in Blyn.
“Our growing voting population has extended to Carlsborg as well the Jamestown/Diamond Point area,” she said.
“These communities deserve greater voter accessibility and information to exercise their right to vote.”
McEntire referred Thomas to Shoona Riggs, Clallam County auditor.
While the county is looking into potentially placing additional boxes in the Sequim area, or even expanding the size of the current box, financial constraints prevent any action until 2016, Riggs said.
Purchase and installation of a brand new drop box with identical specifications as that of the box currently in Sequim would be $2,500, while a lrger box would be more, Riggs said.
“I do not have the money to do it this year in our budget, but . . . we are doing budgets for next year and it is definitely something we are talking about,” she said.
Riggs and her staff are currently deciding “what the best option is — to enlarge that box by itself, or to get two boxes,” she said
The drop box in Sequim is well used, Riggs said.
“There is definitely an issue. We’ve had to run down there on the spur of the moment to empty it because it has been so full. Across the county, our drop boxes are used more than the mail is.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, several hundred ballots had been dropped off in the Sequim box, Riggs said.
“Since last Friday, when Sequim received their ballots, we have had just short of 800 that came through the drop box,” she said.
“It is popular, and that is why we need to get on finding another box.”
Riggs does not believe the box should be removed and relocated.
“At this point I do not plan on moving it,” she said.
“It is too hard on the voters to move it constantly. They know where it is at.
“We have now created a banner that hangs on the light post up above it. It is a five-foot banner, so that when you go into that parking lot, it is very visible.”
The city of Sequim is willing to work with the Auditor’s Office to choose an additional location for a drop box, said Craig Ritchie, interim city manager.
“We work with the county all time, and we work with the auditor, and if it looked like that was sensible to them and cost effective” the city would consider it.
While Thomas suggested the Civic Center or neighboring Transit Center might be ideal locations, that may not be feasible, Ritchie said.
“I think the difficulty at the current Civic Center is there isn’t any real drive-through where you could deposit stuff, but we could certainly put one on our property.”
The current location “is a pretty good spot,” Ritchie added.
“It is easy to drive by and just drop it in.”
For now, Thomas said she is forced to send her ballot via mail.
“We shouldn’t all have to put a stamp on our ballot. I filled out my ballot, but who knows when the drop-box has even been checked. It could be full now. It is not that large.”
The box is checked regularly by the Clallam County League of Women Voters, who are working with the county to collect and transport the ballots to the Clallam County Courthouse, Riggs said.
The league also collected and transported the ballots from the drop box during the February election, Riggs noted.
“It worked out really well in February, so they are doing it again,” Riggs said.
“When they empty that drop box, they take it to their car and fill up all those bags and they immediately come up here and dump them off with us.”
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
