Primary ballots to be mailed to voters

Military, overseas ballots were mailed Jan. 24

PORT TOWNSEND — Presidential primary ballots will be mailed out Wednesday to the majority of Jefferson County registered voters.

Approximately 26,000 ballots will mailed to Jefferson County voters, with military and overseas ballots already being mailed Jan. 24, Jefferson County Election Coordinator Quinn Grewell said Monday.

For voting in the primary, voters must mark one political party declaration box, sign and date the declaration and vote for one candidate from the party they declared — either Democrat or Republican.

Ballots must be returned to a ballot dropbox, the Auditor’s Office or postmarked by 8 p.m. on March 10.

All ballots have mail postage provided, but if a ballot is mailed on March 10, it must be postmarked with that date or it will not be counted, said Grewell.

Ballots can also be dropped off at five dropboxes:

• Jefferson County Courthouse: back parking lot at 1820 Jefferson St., Port Townsend

• Jefferson County Library: next to the book-drop in the parking lot at 620 Cedar Ave., Port Hadlock

• Quilcene Community Center: 294952 U.S. Highway 101 in Quilcene

• Brinnon Community Center: 306144 Highway 101 in Brinnon

• Nordland Fire Station: 6633 Flagler Road in Nordland

Ballots also can be returned to the Jefferson County Auditor’s Office on the first floor of the county courthouse at 1820 Jefferson St.

President Donald Trump is the sole candidate for the Republican Party.

For the Democratic Party, the candidates on the ballot are Michael Bennet, Joseph Biden, Michael Bloomberg, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, John Delaney, Tulsi Gabbard, Amy Klobuchar, Deval Patrick, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang, according to VoteWa.gov.

Bennet, Yang, Booker, Delaney and Patrick withdrew their candidacies after the deadline, with Patrick dropping out last week, so their names appear though they are no longer running.

Initial results for the primary will be released at about 8 p.m. March 10, with additional ballots counted March 13 and the results certified March 20.

The primary is used to help select the candidate to receive the nomination for each party, and the election for the 2021-2024 presidential term will be Nov. 3.

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Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 5, or at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com.