Election day: Still time to replace a ballot

We have gone to all-mail voting, of course. But who knew about an email option for getting a replacement ballot?
We have gone to all-mail voting, of course. But who knew about an email option for getting a replacement ballot?

It's election day: do you know where your ballot is? Did it go out with the recycling? Replacing it might be a whole lot easier than you think.

It turns out that our shift to all-mail voting also includes an element of email convenience. For anyone who has lost his or her ballot, King County has several last-minute options, including sending a replacement by email. Someone receiving an email ballot could then print it out, vote and sign the oath.

Kim van Ekstrom of King County Elections said anyone who has lost a ballot can call the office's voting line, 206-296-VOTE (8683), to discuss the options. It's also possible to go to the main office (9010 East Marginal Way S., Tukwila) to get another ballot, or to be allowed to vote at one of the accessible voting units in Bellevue and Tukwila.

The staff members can also explain how to return the ballot. Not to complicate things too much, but van Ekstrom said there are possibilities for sending the ballot back electronically, by return email or fax, to meet an 8 pm deadline this evening, but the actual paper ballot would have to be delivered soon afterward.

For most people, the questions at this point are not about replacing a lost ballot but just meeting the deadline for voting. Ballots returned by the US mail must be postmarked with today's date. The county's ballot drop boxes are open until 8 pm.

General information is available at the county elections web site. Among the issues before voters are school spending measures for more than a dozen school districts, including Seattle, and the King County Public Library System.

  

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