On Thursday, Feb. 22, Snohomish County Elections will mail ballots for the March 12 presidential primary to 507,000 registered voters, according to a news release.
The presidential primary is an opportunity for voters to help the major political parties select presidential nominees for the November general election.
Ballots for the presidential primary were mailed to military and overseas voters on Jan. 26 and to out-of-state and rural voters on Feb. 16. The voters pamphlet was mailed last week to every household. Voters are encouraged to return their completed ballots as soon as practical.
The presidential primary is a nominating process for the political parties to determine their candidates for the November general election ballot. To participate in the presidential primary, state law and political party rules require that voters declare a political party preference at the time of voting and to vote for a candidate of your declared party.
As required by state law, the party preference you choose will be public information for 60 days. Vote choices are always secret and cannot be tied to a voter. The political party a voter chooses in the presidential primary does not limit how you vote in the November general election or any future primary or election.
Voters will see candidates on their ballot who may no longer be actively campaigning for President. The state political parties were required to identify their list of candidates by Jan. 9 to allow time for the state and counties to print voters’ pamphlets and ballots. View the online voters’ pamphlet at www.votewa.gov to see if a candidate has suspended their campaign.
Voters have until Monday, March 4, to register or update their existing registration online or by mail. In-person registration and ballots are available until 8 p.m. on Election Night, Tuesday, March 12, at the Snohomish County Auditor’s Office or designated accessible voting sites during specific hours.
For the presidential primary, 35 official ballot drop boxes are open for voters to return their voted ballots 24 hours a day until 8 p.m. on Election Day. A complete list of ballot drop box locations can be found in the inserts accompanying the ballot and on the county elections website: www.snohomishcountywa.gov/5726/Find-a-Ballot-Drop-Box.
Additionally, voters can return their ballots postage-free by mail. Ballots must be postmarked by March 12. To ensure timely delivery, voters are advised to check the last collection time on the USPS postal box.
For voters with disabilities, Snohomish County Elections will have accessible voting equipment available at several locations: the Snohomish County campus (3000 Rockefeller Avenue, Everett), in south county at Homage Senior Services (5026 196th Street Southwest, Lynnwood), in north county at the Medallion Inn & Suites (16710 Smokey Point Boulevard), and in east county at the Evergreen Fairgrounds (14405 179th Avenue Southeast, Monroe). Dates and hours of service are listed on the insert that accompanies the ballot and at www.snoco.org/elections.
If you are registered to vote and do not receive a ballot by Feb. 28, call Snohomish County Elections at 425-388-3444.
For more answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the presidential primary, consult the State Elections’ FAQs: www.sos.wa.gov/elections/voters/helpful-information/presidential-primary-faq.
For more information, visit our website at www.snoco.org/elections; follow @snoco_auditor on Facebook, Instagram, and X; or email elections@snoco.org.
Serious question: Why are taxpayers footing the bill for party nominations that require the voter to select a party? If you are a political independent or simply not wanting to be affiliated with either party, this system effectively tells you to your only choice is to shred your your ballot and your preference doesn’t matter despite the fact that your tax dollars are paying for the election process.
If ballots require voters to select a party before a candidate, the cost of the election should be covered by the political parties and not the taxpayers.
I might add… The fact that party identification is required seems incredibly…. Unnecessary. It’s one race and you get one vote. Why is party identification required at all? I would understand (although still argue it should be privately paid for) if there was multiple races on the ballot (e.g., President, Governor, Senate…). But, that’s not the case. The other races are covered under our open, top two, primary system.
I suspect the answer lies in $$$$. The party leaders want the publicly available voter data from which they can then do more targeted ad spend around elections and attempt to collect donations with the data. I could be wrong, but I’m short on plausible explanation that lacks nefarious intent. It just makes zero logical sense and i look forward to shredding my ballot 🙂