It’s Election Day: Get ballots in or postmarked by Aug. 1

EVERETT — It’s time to mark ballots and watch the results roll in.

Tuesday’s primary election will chop in half the field of contestants for mayor in Everett and Snohomish. It’ll thin out several City Council races — and much more throughout Snohomish County.

Voters have until 8 p.m. to slip ballots in an official drop box. If mailed, ballots must be postmarked by Aug. 1.

“We are trending at 24 to 25 percent turnout,” county elections manager Garth Fell said. “Historically, our odd-year primaries average 27 percent. The last few primaries, we’ve seen lower-than-average turnout.”

Two people from each contest will survive to do political battle in the Nov. 7 general election.

Local primary races of consequence include seats on the Snohomish County Council. There’s something at stake for city council contests in Everett, Lynnwood, Marysville, Mukilteo, Snohomish and Stanwood.

Three or more candidates hope to serve on school boards in the Edmonds, Marysville and Sultan districts. Five contenders have jumped in a commissioner’s race in Fire Distinct 1 — just one of a half-dozen races throughout the county about serving on a fire commission.

Nonpartisan races with two or fewer candidates do not appear in the primary.

The Snohomish County auditor mailed ballots to 450,000 registered voters last month.

By Monday morning, about 13.5 percent of ballots had been returned countywide.

Everett, with some of most significant primary decisions to make, trailed most of Snohomish County in turnout. By Monday morning, just 12.6 percent of ballots had been returned by Everett voters, according to the auditor’s office.

Ballot returns by that time reached as high as 17.5 percent in the city of Stanwood and almost that high in Snohomish. Mukilteo wasn’t far behind.

There are 13 ballot drop boxes through the county, the newest one outside the Granite Falls public library.

Questions? Go to the auditor’s website at www.snoco.org/elections or call 425-388-3444.

Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @NWhaglund.

Snohomish County official ballot drop boxes

Arlington (near library)

135 N Washington Ave.

Bothell (QFC parking lot)

22833 Bothell-Everett Highway

Edmonds (near library)

650 Main St.

Everett (courthouse campus)