The primary election is next week. Drop boxes your best bet to have your vote counted
Voters have until 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, to submit their ballots for the 2020 August primary.
Mailed ballots must be postmarked Aug. 4. No stamp is required.
At this late date, Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson strongly encourages voters to use a ballot drop box. There are 47 drop box locations in Pierce County.
There are no polling places or machines to vote on; Washington state is entirely paper-based, and ballots are mailed to voters.
There are 528,871 registered voters in Pierce County. As of Wednesday, about 14 percent, or 75,832 ballots, were turned in, with 24,062 ballots received by drop box and 51,770 returned by mail.
If voters can’t find the ballot that was mailed to them, or if they aren’t registered to vote, call 253-798-8683 (VOTE).
Starting Saturday, voter services will be available via drive-thru at the Pierce County Annex, 2401 S. 35th St. in Tacoma.
“Voters will not need to leave their vehicles. We’ll be running registrations and ballots out to cars, using sanitized clipboards, and single-use pens voters can keep. South 35th Street will be closed to accommodate the drive-thru,” according to the auditor’s office.
The drive-thru times are:
- 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1
- 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 3
- 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4
Pierce County’s 27 public library branches will be available to assist voters on Aug. 4 and offer “curbside” services.
Seats on the ballot in Tuesday’s primary include:
Federal
- Congressional Districts 6, 8, 9, 10
Statewide
- Governor
- Lt. Governor
- Secretary of State
- State Auditor
- Attorney General
- Commissioner of Public Lands
- Superintendent of Public Instruction
- Insurance Commissioner
Legislative
- Legislative Districts 2, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31
County
- Pierce County Executive
- Pierce County Sheriff
- Pierce County Council Districts 2, 3, 4, 6
The two candidates with the most votes in the primary election will advance to the general election on Nov. 3.
Also on the ballot is a four-year maintenance and operation levy for the Key Peninsula Fire Department and a a six-year levy for emergency medical services (EMS) for the city of Fircrest.
Initial results for the primary will drop at 8:15 p.m. Tuesday.
The Pierce County Auditor’s Office anticipates a 35 percent voter turnout.
For an online voters guide and more information, visit co.pierce.wa.us/328/Elections.
