PORT ANGELES — The primary election is today and ballots are due by 8 p.m. at an official drop box located throughout Clallam or Jefferson counties.
“Boxes will close at 8:00 p.m. sharp. We recommend submitting your ballot before 8:00 p.m. to avoid last-minute traffic,” the Clallam County Auditor’s office said in a news release.
If using the U.S. Postal Service to return your ballot, be sure to check cutoff times for postmarks as your ballot must have a postmark of Aug. 1 or earlier.
Counties will begin tabulating ballots after polls close at 8 p.m. with the first round of results released tonight. Further results will be reported at the end of each business day as tabulation occurs.
Counties with a population of 75,000 or higher, including Clallam County, will post updated results daily. Counties with populations of less than 75,000, such as Jefferson County, are required to report at least every three days.
As of Friday afternoon, 9,618 ballots, or 23.6 percent, had been returned in Clallam County, and 78 ballots, or 20.8 percent, had been returned in Jefferson County.
The only primary contests on the Jefferson County ballot are the Sequim School Board races. The Sequim School District extends slightly into East Jefferson County. Because of that, there are only 375 eligible primary voters in Jefferson County.
Voters in both counties will cast votes for three nonpartisan positions on the Sequim School Board, two of which have three-way races.
Also on the Clallam County primary election ballot is one Port Angeles City Council seat.
The state’s top-two primary election will decide which candidates in races with three or more running will go on to the general election on Nov. 7. Those who receive the top two votes will go on to the general.
In the Sequim School Board race, Position 1 incumbent Larry Jeffryes — a former chemistry and biology teacher who’s served since 2019 — is facing challenges from data technician Jim Shepherd and park ranger John Graham for a four-year term.
Position 4 appointee former principal Maren Halvorsen is running against former educator Dean Christian and former school board candidate Derek Huntington for a two-year, unexpired term.
Lastly in the Sequim School Board race is Position 5 incumbent Michael Rocha running against small business owner Hunter Gilliam for a four-year term. The ballot says Sandra Kellso also is running, but she said she has withdrawn from the race.
Also on the Clallam County ballot is Port Angeles City Council Position 6. Incumbent Navarra Carr is facing challenges from Sequim firefighter Mark Karjalainen and Nicholas Merrigan, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe project manager, for a four-year term.
Also on the Clallam County ballot is the two-way partisan race for the District 1 County Commission seat. Since there is no contest to be decided in the primary, the same candidates will be on the November ballot. Incumbent Mark Ozias, a Democrat, is up for re-election. He is running against Republican Stan McClain for a four-year term.
Official ballot drop boxes can be found at the following locations.
In Clallam County:
Port Angeles: Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St. On the courthouse circular drive; on the sidewalk across from disabled parking or inside at the Elections and Voter Registration Office.
Clallam Bay: 16990 state Highway 112, in front of the Clallam Bay Branch Library.
Forks: 500 E. Division St., outside Forks City Hall.
Neah Bay: 1450 Bayview Ave., in front of Washburn’s General Store by the left Totem Pole.
Sekiu: 15 Sekiu Airport Road (at the Clallam County Public Utility District No. 1 building in the drive-up lane).
Carlsborg: 261461 U.S. Highway 101, near Sunny Farms adjacent to Mill Road.
Sequim: 651 W. Washington St., in the parking lot.
In Jefferson County:
Port Townsend: Jefferson County Courthouse, 1820 Jefferson St. Drive-up Ballot Drop Box (Back parking lot); Walk-up Ballot Drop Box (in front of the Courthouse steps) or inside the Jefferson County Auditor’s Office.
Brinnon: Brinnon Community Center, 306144 U.S. Highway 101, Brinnon.
Quilcene: Quilcene Community Center, 294952 U.S. Highway 101, Quilcene.
Port Hadlock: Jefferson County Library, 620 Cedar Ave.
Nordland: Nordland Fire Station, 6633 Flagler Road.
Port Ludlow: Olympic Peninsula Gateway Visitor Center, 93 Beaver Valley Road.
Hoh Indian Nation: 2261 Lower Hoh Road, Forks, in front of the Tribal Police Center.
Quinault Indian Nation (Queets): Queets Avenue, Forks, in front of the Queets Tribal Office.
Additional voter information can be found at VoteWa.gov; ClallamCountyWa.gov/Elections or Co.Jefferson.Wa.US/Elections.
Results will be posted after 8 p.m. on county auditor websites and on the Peninsula Daily News website at www.peninsuladailynews.com.
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Reporter Peter Segall can be reached at peter.segall@peninsuladailynews.com.
