Washington votes by mail. General election ballots go out on October 16 and land in mailboxes a few days later. What you can do today: make sure your registration and address are current.
Registering or changing your address online or by mail? It must be received by October 26.
Four dates, and only one of them is easy to miss.
Washington has same-day registration. You can register or update your address in person at the county elections office or a voting center right up to 8:00 p.m. on Election Day, and get a ballot on the spot. A lot of people don't know this and stay home for no reason.
Check your status, see the ballot you'll get, and confirm your address is current — all in about thirty seconds.
Check at VoteWA →Drop boxes across the county open on October 16, when ballots go out, and seal at 8 p.m. on November 3. No stamp needed. The courthouse also takes ballots in person.
Chelan County drop boxes →Once you send it, you can track it. If your signature doesn't match, the county contacts you and you can fix it — but only if you're watching.
Track your ballot →No. Washington pays return postage on every ballot. You can mail it or use a drop box — both are free.
For mail, yes — it must be postmarked no later than November 3. For drop boxes, no: the box is sealed at 8:00 p.m. and anything after that is late. If you're close to the deadline, use a drop box rather than a mailbox.
Washington doesn't run separate party primaries. In August every candidate appeared on one ballot and the top two advanced — which is why most races in November show two names, and a few show one, where nobody else filed. You vote for whoever you want, regardless of party.
Update your address before you vote, or your ballot may go to the wrong place and you may get the wrong local races. Online until October 26, in person through 8 p.m. on November 3.
Because a county race is decided by a few thousand people, and most of them never vote. I'd rather run in an election where more people participate — including people who won't vote for me. Here's the tax tool if you want to see what I actually work on.
Type in your address and get your bill split into what the state requires, what districts collect, and what voters approved.