North Olympic Peninsula registered voters will start receiving their ballots for the Aug. 3 primary election by the end of the week after ballots are mailed Wednesday.
Not all residents will receive a ballot in the upcoming primary. Ballots go to voters in the districts in which elections are being held.
The top-two primary election narrows the field from three or more candidates to two who will face each other in the November general election.
The Jefferson County Auditor’s Office will mail about 15,458 ballots on Wednesday, said Quinn Grewell, elections coordinator.
Clallam County will mail about 53,870 ballots, Election Manager Susan Johnson said.
Ballots must be either postmarked by Aug. 3 or returned to a ballot box or Auditor’s Office by 8 p.m. Aug. 3.
Jefferson County has four races and one measure on the ballot.
The Port Townsend City Council Position 5 seat being vacated by Pamela Adams has drawn three contenders: Sky Hardesty-Thompson, Tyler Myles Vega and Libby Urner Wennstrom.
Four candidates are competing for the Sequim School Board Position 4 seat, now held by Brandino Gibson, who is not seeking reelection. They are Derek Huntington, Virginia Sheppard, Rachel Tax and Kristi Schmeck.
Port Ludlow Fire & Rescue District commission incumbent Ron Helmonds is challenged by Glenn Clemens and Mike Feely for the Position 3 seat.
Clallam County Fire District 3, which serves a small portion of East Jefferson County, has Jeff Nicholas, Sean Ryan and Duane Charnlee competing for the Position 1 seat now held by Michael Gawley.
The Quilcene Fire District Levy — written on the ballot as Jefferson County Fire Protection District No. 2 — is a six-year continuation of the current property tax levy of 50 cents or less per $1,000 of assessed property value, which, if approved, would take effect in 2023.
Voters can register in person up to 8 p.m. on Aug. 3 to vote in the primary election at the county Auditor’s Office.
Voters also can register online and by mail until July 26. To register online, voters can go to voter.votewa.gov. Mailed registration must be received by the Auditor’s Office by July 26.
A voter registration and a voters guide tailored to the ballot is at voter.votewa.gov.
The Jefferson County Auditor’s Office located on the first floor of the County Courthouse at 1820 Jefferson St. in Port Townsend. Voting accommodations are available. For information, call 360-385-9119.
If mailing the ballot on Aug. 3, it is recommended to have post office officials manually postmark the envelope to guarantee that it won’t be considered late and hence invalid once it arrives at the Auditor’s Office.
Ballot drop boxes are open 24 hours a day until 8 p.m. Aug. 3.
Ballot drop box locations for Jefferson County:
• Port Townsend — Jefferson County Courthouse’s back parking lot and in front of the Courthouse steps at 1820 Jefferson St.
• Port Hadlock — 620 Cedar Ave. at the Jefferson County Library next to the book drop in the parking lot.
• Quilcene — 294952 U.S. Highway 101 at the Quilcene Community Center.
• Port Ludlow — 93 Beaver Valley Road in the parking lot of the Olympic Peninsula Gateway Visitor Center.
More information on the Jefferson County elections can be found at https://co.jefferson.wa.us/1266/Elections.
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Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 5, or at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com.
Executive Editor Leah Leach contributed to this story.
