EVERETT — Voters will answer some interesting and difficult questions in Tuesday’s primary election.

Like, which of 28 challengers will face Democrat Sen. Maria Cantwell this fall?

Will Uncle Mover be the one trying to prevent Democrat Congressman Rick Larsen from a 10th term?

Are Snohomish County residents willing to raise their property taxes to pay for fire and emergency medical services?

And, for Democrat voters in a couple of dozen neighborhoods, what direction do they want the Snohomish County Democratic Party to go?

The election ends Tuesday and Snohomish County election officials anticipate turnout will be roughly 33 percent. About 15.2 percent of the county’s 457,000 registered voters had sent in ballots as of Friday.

For the first time, voters can mail back their ballots without postage. That’s because the state is providing counties with money to pick up the tab.

Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked no later than Aug. 7. Those arriving with a later postmark will not be counted. In the April election, 624 ballots arrived too late to be tallied.

Voters also can put completed ballots in one of the county’s 16 designated drop boxes without postage until 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Or they can bring them into the county Auditor’s Office on Monday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The office is located at 3000 Rockefeller Ave. in Everett.

Voters in Snohomish County are considering candidates for 27 local, state and federal offices, and in most of those races they will be deciding which two candidates will advance to the Nov. 6 general election.

There are eight fire and emergency medical services levies, and one measure to raise the sales tax in the city of Marysville to finance a police and jail building.

The most crowded contest is for Cantwell’s seat in Congress. She faces 28 opponents including Susan Hutchison, the former leader of the Washington State Republican Party and four men from Snohomish County — Mike Luke, of Lynnwood, a Libertarian; James Robert Deal, of Lynnwood, a Green Party member; Tim Owen, of Mukilteo, a Republican; and George Kalberer, of Everett, a Democrat.

There are 14 seats in the state House of Representatives and another five in the Senate representing Snohomish County on this year’s ballot.

Results for two of those will be closely watched Tuesday as they involve sitting state senators who face spirited challenges from members of their own party.

In the 32nd District in southwest Snohomish County, Sen. Maralyn Chase, D-Lynnwood, is up against Democrat Jesse Salomon, the deputy mayor of Shoreline, and James Wood, a Republican from Edmonds.

And in the 39th District in the county’s north end, Sen. Keith Wagoner, R-Sedro-Woolley, faces Republican Elizabeth Scott of Monroe, a former two-term state lawmaker, along with Democrat Claus Joens of Marblemount, and Independent Jamal Rabieh of Sedro-Woolley.

Meanwhile, in 30 neighborhoods, Democrats are dueling for the post of precinct committee officer (PCO) and a voice in the running of the party’s political operations.

Progressives inspired by the presidential campaign of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders have been making a concerted effort since 2016 to push the local and state party leftward. They’ve done so by gaining seats of power at all levels.

Some of these Berniecrats are running in the PCO contests in Snohomish County as a result of recruiting by Jason Call, a Sanders supporter, precinct officer and a member of the state party’s central committee.

“I make no secret of my belief that the direction of the party is driven by the PCOs,” he said. “I want more progressives to take more PCO positions. I want the progressives to maintain leadership. We’ve done some really good things.”

His efforts expose the rift between an old guard and a new force which developed in the contentious campaign between Sanders and Hillary Clinton, the party’s nominee.

“This is the most visible battleground in this ideological civil war taking over the party,” said Bill Phillips, who is a precinct officer and former chairman of the county party.

One of the contested PCO contests is in Lake Stevens in the 44th District. It pits Steve Hobbs, a state senator, against Cheryl Calhoun, who Call said was a Sanders supporter.

Hobbs, a moderate Democrat in the midst of a re-election campaign, said he will make a pitch to his neighbors.

“I will handwrite a note on a postcard and send (it) to Democrats in the precinct asking for their vote for Senate and for PCO,” he said.

The first round of election results will be announced shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@herald net.com. Twitter: @dospueblos.