Four primary election contests are on North Olympic Peninsula ballots for Tuesday’s election.
Voters in both counties will cast votes for three nonpartisan positions on the Sequim School Board, two of which have three-way races.
Also on the Clallam County primary election ballot is one Port Angeles City Council seat.
Ballots are due by 8 p.m. Tuesday, either by mail or through hand delivery to one of several designated drop boxes located throughout Clallam and Jefferson counties.
The state’s top-two primary election will decide which candidates in races with three or more running will go on to the general election on Nov. 7. Those who receive the top two votes will go on to the general.
According to the Washington Secretary of State’s office, as of 5 p.m. Friday, 9,618 ballots, or 23.61 percent of the 40,740 ballots issued to voters, had been returned to the Clallam County Auditor’s Office.
The only primary contests on the Jefferson County ballot are the Sequim School Board races. The Sequim School District extends slightly into East Jefferson County. Because of that, there are only 375 eligible primary voters in Jefferson County, according to Elections Manager Quinn Grewell.
On Friday afternoon, 78 ballots, or 20.80 percent, had been returned.
In the Sequim School Board race, Position 1 incumbent Larry Jeffryes — a former chemistry and biology teacher who’s served since 2019 — is facing challenges from data technician Jim Shepherd and park ranger John Graham for a four-year term.
Position 4 appointee former principal Maren Halvorsen is running against former educator Dean Christian and former school board candidate Derek Huntington for a two-year, unexpired term.
Lastly in the Sequim School Board race is Position 5 incumbent Michael Rocha running against small business owner Hunter Gilliam for a four-year term. The ballot says Sandra Kellso also is running, but she said she has withdrawn from the race.
Also on the Clallam County ballot is Port Angeles City Council Position 6. Incumbent Navarra Carr is facing challenges from Sequim firefighter Mark Karjalainen and Nicholas Merrigan, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe project manager, for a four-year term.
Also on the Clallam County ballot is the two-way partisan race for the District 1 County Commission seat. Since there is no contest to be decided in the primary, the same candidates will be on the November ballot. Incumbent Mark Ozias, a Democrat, is up for re-election. He is running against Republican Stan McClain for a four-year term.
To find drop boxes near you, and for other information, see clallamcountywa.gov/162/Elections-Voter-Registration or co.jefferson.wa.us/1266/Elections.
Additional voter information can be found at VoteWa.gov; ClallamCountyWa.gov/Elections or Co.Jefferson.Wa.US/Elections.
Results will be posted after 8 p.m. on county auditor websites and on the Peninsula Daily News website at www.peninsuladailynews.com.
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Reporter Peter Segall can be reached at peter.segall@peninsuladailynews.com.
