Snohomish County elections officials have some interesting challenges ahead as they prepare for the Sept. 20 primary.
The deadline for filing resolutions for the primary was Friday.
The Marysville School District will have a measure for $171 million in bonds to pay for school construction on the ballot. Snohomish County Fire Districts 1, 4 and 5 will all have tax measures on the ballot. The Snohomish County Prosecutor’s Office is reviewing the language of the measures.
Also, Friday was the last day of an extended filing period for open seats for which no one filed by last week’s regular deadline.
Because no challengers filed in four races, incumbents automatically will keep their seats. If any of the incumbents decide to resign, the openings will be filled by appointment.
The incumbent on Monroe School Board’s director district 4 position is Sue Magruder; Sholine Ravensberg holds Sultan School Board’s director district 1 position; Mary Ann Reddell holds the Darrington School Board’s director district 1 position; and Rick Handy is the incumbent in Fire District 23, position 3.
In Island County, a special filing period will be Wednesday through Friday. There are 13 open spots there, mostly for water districts, but also for a South Whidbey School Board seat.
Snohomish County elections manager Carolyn Diepenbrock said Friday that the office has some unusual challenges ahead.
“It’s an odd primary,” she said. “A large part of Everett and Mukilteo don’t have any primary at all. Usually we have a primary everywhere in the county.”
As a result, in order to be cost-effective, the office has to decide if it wants to keep a polling place open, even if only half its voters are eligible to go to the polls.
In those cases, “maybe they will vote by mail this election only,” Diepenbrock said.
Another concern is when the office puts out its voters’ pamphlet Aug. 31, it normally goes to every household within a ZIP code. But that could be confusing to those who don’t have anything on the ballot.
“How are we going to do this?” Diepenbrock said, adding maybe they can get the post office not to deliver to those who aren’t having a primary.
The deadline to register to vote in the primary is Aug. 19. Absentee ballots will be mailed Sept. 1.
Assistant city editor Steve Powell: 425-339-3427 or powell@heraldnet.com.
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