Welcome To Primary Election Days In Everett

Editor’s Disclosure: I am running for Everett City Council Position 1. The other candidates are Paul Roberts and Justin Murta. The position is non-partisan. -LD

Welcome to Primary Election Days. It used to be that Election Day was the one day when you went to the local polling place and cast your ballot. Now because of “all vote by mail” Election Day is more of a deadline to get your ballot turned in and Primary Election Days run now until August 1st.

Yesterday the Snohomish County Auditor’s Office Election Division mailed out the primary ballot. On Wednesday they sent out the voter’s guides.

In Everett voters will choose the top two candidates for Mayor and Everett City Council Positions 1, 2 and 3. There are four people running in the primary for Mayor and three people in each of the city council primary races. The top two vote-getters in each race will advance to the General Election in November.

If you did not receive a voter’s guide you can check out the online version here. In order to cast your ballot you must be a registered voter. If you did not get a ballot contact the Snohomish County Auditors Office here. You can also still register to vote in the Primary if you are a new Washington voter but you have to act by July 24th.

Ballots may be returned by mail and require a first class stamp. The envelope must be postmarked no later than August 1st. The standing practice has been that without a stamp the ballot has been put through but sometimes the post office returns the ballot instead. To make sure your ballot is counted you can place it in one of the official drop boxes. There are two in Everett. One at the corner of Wall Street and Rockefeller in front of the Snohomish County Courthouse and another at McCollum Park 600 128th street in south Everett. There will also be a one day mobile ballot pickup at the Everett Mall on Tuesday August 1st from 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM. All drop boxes will close promptly at 8:00 PM on August 1st.

If you would like to cast a ballot in person, accessible voting units (AVU) are available for registered voters who cannot cast a private, independent ballot by mail. AVU locations, dates and hours are as follows:
Snohomish County Auditor’s Office, 3000 Rockefeller Ave, 1st Floor Admin W Bldg, Everett
Monday – Friday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Election Day, August 1, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.

You can get more information including confirmation that your ballot has arrived by visiting the Snohomish County Auditor’s Election Web Page here.