COUPEVILLE — Many Island County voters couldn’t wait to get their ballots and get them back in.
An estimated 7,000 voted ballots had been returned by mail or in drop boxes as of early Monday. That’s a tick under 13 percent of the county’s roughly 55,000 registered voters.
“The response is brisk. Voters are engaged and actively participating,” Island County Auditor Sheilah Crider said.
She’s predicting 90 to 92 percent of voters will participate in the Nov. 8 election. If turnout hits that mark, it would eclipse the 89.4 percent recorded in 2008 when President Barack Obama was first elected.
“With Island County voters, when there is change in the White House, there is always a higher turnout,” she said.
Island County sent out ballots Oct. 14 and voters started receiving them a week ago. The pattern in the last few years has been for voters to wait until the last minute to return them. Not this time.
“Getting this number of ballots this early is a bit surprising but it is gratifying,” she said. “It shows (voters) are really anticipating this is a big election and they want to be sure their voice is one of those being counted.”
Meanwhile, there’s a smaller rate of return so far in Snohomish County where roughly 450,000 registered voters started receiving ballots in the mail Saturday and Monday.
Election officials reported 801 ballots returned as of midday Monday with about a third coming through the mail and two-thirds from drop boxes.
It wasn’t immediately known if any of those returned by mail in Snohomish County contained insufficient postage.
That’s an issue because an usually large number of items has made the ballot in Snohomish County wider and heavier than usual. It will require 68-cent postage to return them by mail. Only a single first-class stamp is required for ballots in most other counties, including Island County.
Voters can avoid paying postage by putting completed ballots in one of 12 drop boxes scattered throughout Snohomish County.
Garth Fell, Snohomish County elections manager, said Monday they are monitoring the situation and in contact with postal officials to ensure all ballots are delivered to them for processing.
If a ballot envelope arrives without enough postage, county taxpayers would cover the difference, county Auditor Carolyn Weikel has said. The money would come out of an account her office uses for various mailing-related charges.
Another oddity for Snohomish County ballots is that the race for president isn’t on the front side but is the first item on the back.
State law requires statewide and countywide ballot measures appear ahead of contests for any elected office. This year there are 16 filling the entire front side — seven statewide initiatives, seven amendments to the Snohomish County Charter, two advisory measures and a proposed revision to the state Constitution.
Election officials added this reminder in red ink on the bottom of the ballot front: “President and additional races on other side of ballot”.
Registered voters who have not received a ballot, or have questions about the election can call the auditor’s office in Island County at 360-679-7366, ext. 4 or Snohomish County at 425-388-3444.
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com Twitter: @dospueblos.
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