PORT TOWNSEND — More than 57 percent of registered voters in Jefferson County have returned ballots in the Nov. 8 general election — a county return rate that is the highest in the state.
The Jefferson County Auditor’s Office had received a total of 14,139 ballots as of Friday — 57.73 percent of the 24,493 ballots provided voters.
The Clallam County Auditor’s Office had received a total of 26,636 ballots — 52.53 percent of the 50,707 ballots provided to eligible voters — after staff put in an extra day Saturday to process ballots for Tuesday’s election.
Voters statewide had returned 1,694,344 ballots — or 39.7 percent — of the 4.27 million provided voters as of 5 p.m. Friday, according to the Secretary of State’s Office at http://tinyurl.com/PDN-statestats.
Ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday or dropped off no later than 8 p.m. that day at the following locations:
• Jefferson County Courthouse, 1820 Jefferson St., Port Townsend. A drive-up drop box is provided in the parking lot to the rear of the courthouse off Franklin Street.
• Auditor’s Office in the county courthouse, open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 8.
• Jefferson County Library, 620 Cedar Ave., Port Hadlock. An outside drop box is mounted in the parking lot.
The Jefferson County Auditor’s Office at the courthouse is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Election Day hours will be extended to 8 p.m.
For disabled voters, a voting terminal is available at the Auditor’s Office.
Voters who have lost, damaged or never received their ballot should contact the Auditor’s Office to request a replacement.
They can also access a printable ballot via the secure website MyVote at www.myvote.wa.gov.
The Peninsula Daily News published a voter guide for the general election Oct. 16. The voter guide is available online at www.peninsula dailynews.com.
From the top left menu, go to “Print Editions” and select either Clallam or Jefferson County. Special sections, including the voter guide, are available under the print editions.
To reach the auditor’s election website, go to http://tinyurl.com/PDN-jeffersonelectionsoffice. The phone number is 360-385-9117.