Elections officials in both North Olympic Peninsula counties expect a tidal wave of primary election ballots to hit their offices the first three days of this week and swell voter turnout to a projected 50 percent in Clallam County and 57 percent in Jefferson County.
Only 14,325 ballots, or 31.27 percent of the 45,796 mailed for Tuesday’s election, had been returned to the Clallam County Auditor’s Office by Friday.
“I’m hoping to see another 10,000 come in,” Auditor Patty Rosand said Friday as she projected a 50 percent voter turnout.
“I’d like to be wrong and see 60 percent come in,” she added.
“We always get a pretty good turnout on Election Day.”
Rosand said that most of the outstanding and properly postmarked by 8 p.m. Tuesday ballots probably will arrive at her office the day after the election, “because they’ll vote on Election Day.”
Nevertheless, she doesn’t expect the last-minute arrivals to change election outcomes from the votes counted Tuesday.
“Traditionally, it holds,” she said. “It doesn’t change more than a point or two.”
Jefferson County Auditor Donna Eldridge said her “guesstamate” of a 57 percent turnout in Tuesday’s election is “very conservative,” and that she hopes it will rise to 62 percent.
Both figures are a far cry from Friday’s total of 37.2 percent, or 8,078 ballots returned out of the 21,704 mailed.
Rosand said the elections workers expect to count on Tuesday night all the ballots that arrive on Monday.
The next count after Tuesday will be on Friday.
County contests on the Clallam County primary ballot are a three-way race for the district 3 county commissioner seat, a nonpartisan five-candidate race for the director of community development, a three-way contest for prosecuting attorney, and a nonpartisan race among three candidates for District Court 1 judge.
Also on the primary ballot are races for both House of Representatives positions in District 24 — which covers Clallam and Jefferson counties and part of Grays Harbor County — as well as for the 6th Congressional District, U.S. Congress and state Supreme Court seats.
The primary will cull each contest to the two candidates to the two who receive the most votes. Those two will — regardless of party affiliation, even in partisan races — compete in the Nov. 2 general election.
Judicial races operate differently. In such races, as for the state Supreme Court, a candidate who receives more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary wins the office.
A proposed levy lid lift for the North Olympic Library System also is on the ballot.
County contests on the Jefferson County primary ballot are a three-way race for the district 3 county commissioner seat and a two-way race for prosecuting attorney.
A proposed fire and emergency services levy lid lift for Port Townsend also is on the ballot.
Ballots must be marked and returned or mailed by 8 p.m. Tuesday to be counted.
In addition to sending by mail, ballots in Clallam County also may be deposited in official drop boxes at these locations:
• In the auditor’s office in the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles.
• Outside the courthouse on the semi-circular driveway on Fourth Street.
• At Sequim Vehicle/Vessel Licensing, 1001 E. Washington St., Suite, Sequim.
• In the lobby of Forks District Court, 502 E. Division St., Forks.
Those who have not received ballots, or who lost them, can get ballots by going to the auditor’s office at the Clallam County Courthouse or by phoning 360-417-2221.
In Jefferson County, ballots can be returned by mail or by hand to the Jefferson County Courthouse, 1820 Jefferson St., Port Townsend.
For more elections information, phone 360-385-9117.
