WASHINGTON — Although we are not in a major national election year, there are still several local races and ballot measures on the ballot this year for Washington’s Primary Election.
What is a Primary Election
The Primary Election happens the first Tuesday of August. This year, that falls on August 5.
The two hopefuls with the highest number of votes in their respective races will move on to the General Election in November.
Aside from candidates, there are often area-specific ballot measures, usually having to do with property taxes or school levys.
How to vote in the Primary Election
July 28 was the deadline to register online to vote in Washington, or to update your address.
However, Washingtonians can still register and vote in person at a county voting center through Election Day.
You can check your voter registration status here.
If you are registered to vote, your ballot is mailed automatically.
When do polls close?
Typically, you will have until 8 p.m. on Primary Election day to either have your ballot post marked or dropped in one of the ballot drop boxes.
Find a list of all ballot drop boxes and voting centers near you.
What’s on the ballot?
This Primary Election is primarily focused on local municipality seats (county and city councils, esepcially). In some areas, seats are open for state legislative representation.
Cities like Everett, Seattle and Tacoma are all having mayoral elections this year. The latter is the only of these three cities where the incumbent mayor is not seeking re-election.
King, Pierce, Whatcom, Thurston, Kitsap and Snohomish are among several counties with area-specific ballot measures to vote on, with property tax levys being the most common.
Just because you live in that county, does not mean that you will have a measure on your ballot.
You can find an entire list of candidates and measures here.
The only two counties in the state without a primary this cycle are Garfield and Columbia counties.
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