SEQUIM — Voters in the Sequim area will see a big difference the next time they head to the ballot box.
Clallam County Elections recently installed a larger ballot box at its Sequim Village Shopping Center drop-off site located in the J.C. Penney Co. parking lot at 609 W. Washington St.
With a maximum capacity of 3,500 ballots, the new ballot box is nearly three times bigger than the previous one.
Port Angeles-based Ken Reandeau Excavating was contracted in late February to put in the secure 30-by-36-by-36-inch box, manufactured by Fort Knox Mailbox.
Auditor Shoona Riggs said steadily increasing use of the centralized drop-off site and an anticipated high voter turnout for the Nov. 8 general election made installing a larger Sequim ballot box a high priority this year.
“Nearly 8,000 voters used the Sequim drop box in the election last February, so voter turnout was a driving force,” Riggs said.
“We expect that number to continue going up heading into the presidential election and beyond as more and more voters become aware of it.”
Next on the elections calendar is Washington’s 2016 Presidential Primary on May 24.
Ballots will be mailed Wednesday to all Clallam County voters. They must be postmarked or dropped off by 8 p.m. May 24.
Military and overseas voters were mailed ballots in early April.
For more information, call the elections office at 360-417-2221 or visit www.clallam.net/elections.
