Published: Friday, October 16, 2009
Fewer drop-off sites for election ballots
EVERETT — Big trucks took several loads of ballots from the Snohomish County campus to the post office on Thursday morning.
There were 367,884 ballots in all.
They should be arriving in mailboxes soon.
Voters have two options: They can post ballots in the mail or go to one of six drop-off sites around the county.
The number of collection sites is far fewer than last year, but there is a new 24-hour box outside the county campus at Wall Street and Rockefeller Avenue. The round-the-clock dropoff will remain open until 8 p.m. on Nov. 3 — Election Day.
“Where (voters) used to be able to take their ballot may not be open this year,” Auditor Carolyn Weikel said. “They may have to go somewhere else or use the mail.”
The county has used an all-mail ballot system since 2006. To be counted, ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
The county also is providing drop-off locations for convenience, and because some people feel safer delivering their votes in person.
During last year's presidential election, there were about 30 places to leave ballots in the county. The decrease owes to what is expected to be a lower turnout and budget cuts at the auditor's office. Reducing the number of collection sites and the time they stay open is expected to save $100,000, Weikel said.
About 53 percent of voters are expected to cast ballots in this election, county elections manager Garth Fell said.
That projected turnout is paltry next to last year's 87 percent, when excitement over presidential and gubernatorial races ran high. That was the most since 1944, when 87.27 percent of the county electorate voted.
Turnout for this general election is still expected to be higher than in past odd-year elections, which focus on local races. It was 52 percent in 2007 and 49 percent in 2005.
The mail-in system could have increased participation during the past three years, while some excitement from last year's presidential race is expected to carry into 2009, Weikel said.
Two statewide ballot measures also could be driving interest during this cycle. Voters get to decide on Referendum 71, the domestic-partnership law often referred to as “everything but marriage,” and Initiative 1033, a Tim Eyman measure that would limit municipal, county and state budgets to population growth plus the inflation rate.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
There were 367,884 ballots in all.
They should be arriving in mailboxes soon.
Voters have two options: They can post ballots in the mail or go to one of six drop-off sites around the county.
The number of collection sites is far fewer than last year, but there is a new 24-hour box outside the county campus at Wall Street and Rockefeller Avenue. The round-the-clock dropoff will remain open until 8 p.m. on Nov. 3 — Election Day.
“Where (voters) used to be able to take their ballot may not be open this year,” Auditor Carolyn Weikel said. “They may have to go somewhere else or use the mail.”
The county has used an all-mail ballot system since 2006. To be counted, ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 3.
The county also is providing drop-off locations for convenience, and because some people feel safer delivering their votes in person.
During last year's presidential election, there were about 30 places to leave ballots in the county. The decrease owes to what is expected to be a lower turnout and budget cuts at the auditor's office. Reducing the number of collection sites and the time they stay open is expected to save $100,000, Weikel said.
About 53 percent of voters are expected to cast ballots in this election, county elections manager Garth Fell said.
That projected turnout is paltry next to last year's 87 percent, when excitement over presidential and gubernatorial races ran high. That was the most since 1944, when 87.27 percent of the county electorate voted.
Turnout for this general election is still expected to be higher than in past odd-year elections, which focus on local races. It was 52 percent in 2007 and 49 percent in 2005.
The mail-in system could have increased participation during the past three years, while some excitement from last year's presidential race is expected to carry into 2009, Weikel said.
Two statewide ballot measures also could be driving interest during this cycle. Voters get to decide on Referendum 71, the domestic-partnership law often referred to as “everything but marriage,” and Initiative 1033, a Tim Eyman measure that would limit municipal, county and state budgets to population growth plus the inflation rate.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
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• Everett • Lynnwood • Marysville • Mukilteo • Snohomish • Local • ElectionsBallot information
Ballots in Snohomish County must be postmarked by Nov. 3. They also can be left 24 hours a day at a county campus drop box at the corner of Rockefeller Avenue and Wall Street in Everett. The dropoff deadline is 8 p.m. Nov. 3.
Five boxes at Sno-Isle Libraries branches are scheduled to open on Nov. 2 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Nov. 3 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.:
Voting equipment for people with disabilities also is available at the auditor's election division on the county campus through Nov. 3. The hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday. Hours on Election Day are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
For more information, call 425-388-3444 or go to www.snoco.org/elections.
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