PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County voters had returned 29 percent of the primary election ballots mailed to them by Thursday.
Out of the total 26,463 active voters, 7,890 ballots have been received and 7,778 have been accepted as of Thursday, officials said. The remaining ballots either lack signatures or have questionable ones.
Clallam County voters had returned 19.79 percent of their ballots by Wednesday, the latest day for which totals were recorded on the Clallam County Auditor’s Office website late Thursday afternoon.
Ballots must be placed in a ballot drop box or postmarked by 8 p.m. Tuesday to be counted.
People can check on the status of their ballot at votewa.gov.
All ballot drop boxes are closed and locked at 8 p.m. Tuesday and can be found at:
• Jefferson County Courthouse: 1820 Jefferson St., in the back parking lot.
• Brinnon Community Center: 306144 U.S. Highway 101.
• Quilcene Community Center: 294952 U.S. Highway 101.
• Jefferson County Library: 620 Cedar Ave., next to the book drop in the parking lot.
• Nordland Fire Station: 6633 Flagler Road.
There also is a drop box in the hallway outside the Auditor’s Office on the first floor that is accessible from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, with Election Day hours from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
However, officials encourage the public to use outside boxes unless people are already at the courthouse for other business.
The Peninsula Daily News has published stories on primary contests involving Jefferson County District 2 commissioner and the state Legislature, which can be found at peninsuladailynews.com.
A statewide online voters’ guide is available at www.votewa.gov.
Printed voters’ pamphlets are not produced for primaries.
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Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached by email at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com or by phone at 360-385-2335, ext. 5.