EVERETT — Tuesday is primary election day in Snohomish County, giving voters the chance to weigh in on a number of important races taking place across the region.
As of 3 p.m. Friday, the county has received 55,393 ballots from the county’s more than 475,000 active registered voters.
That number is typical for an off-year primary election, Snohomish County Auditor Garth Fell said in an interview. When all the ballots are counted, Fell expects turnout to hover around 20%.
“There’s still opportunity for voters to turn out, so we encourage anybody that has not voted yet to certainly do so before tomorrow’s deadline,” he said Monday.
Many voters are set to decide on whether to send candidates to November’s general election, while others are voting on a number of property tax levy lid lift increases.
In Everett, three candidates are looking to unseat mayoral incumbent Cassie Franklin as she seeks a third four-year term in office. She is challenged by Janice Greene, Scott Murphy and Rich Ryan.
Three City Council seats — District 1, District 2 and District 4 — are also on the primary ballot.
In District 1, five are looking to fill a seat as current council member Mary Fosse’s term ends in December. They are Sam Hem, Mason Rutledge, Steven Sullivan, Erica Weir and Bill Wheeler.
Three people are on the ballot in the District 2 race — Ryan Crowther, incumbent Paula Rhyne and Jonathan Shapiro — but Shapiro has dropped out of the campaign.
In District 4, three are looking for a shot at the November general election to fill a seat left by Liz Vogeli. They are Niko Battle, Luis Burbano and Alan Rubio.
Two City Council positions are on the ballot for residents in Lynnwood: Position 1 and Position 3. For Position 1, incumbent Derica Escamilla is facing challenges from Dio Boucsieguez and Brandon Kimmel. Incumbent Council Vice President Josh Binda also faces two challengers for the Position 3 seat in Tyler Hall and Bryce Owings.
Residents in Edmonds, Marysville and Mukilteo are each voting for a single city council position.
In Edmonds, Joseph Ademofe, Erika Barnett and Alex Newman are seeking a seat that will be left open after Council President Neil Tibbot’s term expires at the end of the year.
Five candidates make up the field in Marysville, where Amber Cantu, David Garrett, Gary Kemp, Dan Perkins and R.J. Whitlow are aiming to earn the Position 3 seat currently held by Tom King, who did not file to run.
In Mukilteo, another five are looking to get on the November ballot for the Position 2 seat: Carolyn Carlson, Riaz Khan, Tina Over, James Sterba and Jon Welton. That position is currently held by Council President Tom Jordal, who did not file to run for releection.
Three seats on the Northshore School District school board — District 1, District 4 and District 5 — are also on the ballot. Three newcomers are looking to fill the vacant District 1 seat: Carson Sanderson, Arun Sharma and Brian Travis. In District 4, Sehaj Dhaliwal and JoAnn Tolentino are challenging incumbent Sandy Hayes. Three others are seeking the District 5 seat: Kimberlee Kelly, Holly Muenchow and Lynda Schram.
Snohomish Fire and EMS, the Marysville Regional Fire Authority and the North County Regional Fire Authority all have property tax levy lifts on the ballot as well.
“I would encourage people to participate, even if there’s only one race on their ballot. These are important primaries,” Fell said. “They are an opportunity to ensure that their top candidate moves on to the general election.”
Ballots can be dropped off as late as 8 p.m. Tuesday at one of 35 drop boxes across the county. Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked no later than Tuesday to be counted.
Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.
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