King County Elections reminds us that voters have until this coming Tuesday night (Feb. 9th) to get their ballots postmarked to be counted as part of the special election.

As we reported Jan. 28th, the ballot drop box that was located at the White Center KCLS Library is no longer there, so in order for your vote to count you have to either mail it in or drop it off at one of two area drop boxes (see addresses below).

Nearly 1.1 million ballots were sent to all active voters three weeks ago and ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday in order for them to count.

All voters should follow these guidelines when voting their mail ballot:

1. Carefully follow all instructions, and review your ballot from top to bottom and front to back.
2. Take your time when signing your voter oath. The signature on every ballot envelope is verified before your ballot moves toward being counted.
3. Respond immediately if you are contacted by King County Elections. You may have forgotten to sign the return envelope or your signature may not match your voter registration record.
4. Make sure your ballot is postmarked by Election Day (Tuesday, Feb. 9th). Ballots without postage can be returned to a ballot drop box until 8 p.m. on election night. Please note: King County Elections has reduced the number of available ballot drop boxes. The nearest ballt drop boxes are located at:

• Seattle, King County Administration Building, 500 Fourth Ave., 98104
• Tukwila, King County Elections Headquarters, 9010 East Marginal Way S, 98108

5. Ballots can be dropped off during business hours at one of King County’s three accessible voting centers, without the cost of postage.
6. Track your ballot! Visit www.kingcounty.gov/elections to track your ballot online at three points as it is processed.

Accessible voting options:

• Voters with disabilities can cast a private and independent ballot using an accessible voting unit at the following locations on Monday or Tuesday:

King County Elections, 9010 East Marginal Way S, Tukwila, 98108
Monday: 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Election Day: 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Bellevue City Hall, 450 110th Ave NE, Room 121, Bellevue, 98009 and
Union Station, 401 S. Jackson St, Seattle, 98104
Monday: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Tuesday, Election Day: 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Equipment at the accessible voting centers provides an audio and touch-screen ballot in English and Chinese. With large font, high contrast and a key pad device, voting is made easy for voters with disabilities.

For more information on Tuesday’s election, visit www.kingcounty.gov/elections or call 206-296-VOTE (8683).

WCB Reader and White Center Library Guild member Rachel Levine alerted us to this the other day – the King County ballot drop box that used to live outside the White Center Library has been removed by the King County Elections office.

This means that if you were counting on using this drop box to physically submit your ballot for the upcoming Feb. 9th election, you’d better make other plans – like mailing it in or traveling to one of the other two remaining drop box locations in downtown Seattle or Tukwila.

Ironically, one of the main issues in this election is Proposition 1, which seeks an increase in the King County Library System’s regular property tax levy.

Levine is also dismayed at the library system’s controversial attempt at holding on to Puget Sound Park, despite Burien’s approved annexation of that area.

According to the county, drop box removals are part of a new budget-cutting measure, where all but two ballot boxes have been removed; here are some details from their website:

King County Elections, like all departments, was asked by the Council and Executive’s Office to look closely at our operations. We identified opportunities to reduce non-mandated services, that would not jeopardize the integrity of the elections process. The County Council had to carefully weigh the benefits and costs of many services that citizens want and depend on and, as a result, the decision to eliminate most ballot drop boxes was made.

In 2010, the ballot drop box at Election headquarters will remain in service, as will the box at the King County Administration Building in downtown Seattle, due to the high volume of use and its association with the seat of County government.

All ballots must be returned at a ballot drop box by 8 p.m. or postmarked by Election Day (in this case, Feb. 9th).

Ballot drop boxes:

• Seattle, King County Administration Building, 500 Fourth Ave., 98104
• Tukwila, King County Elections Headquarters, 9010 East Marginal Way S, 98108

Other options:
Ballots can be dropped off during business hours at one of King County’s three accessible voting centers, without the cost of postage.

Ballots returned via the U.S. Postal Service require one first class stamp. For more information on U.S. Postal Service collection boxes or postage rates, visit their website.

Here’s Rachel’s original letter to King County Elections:

—–Original Message—–
From: elections@kingcounty.gov [mailto:elections@kingcounty.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 12:04 PM
To: Elections, Comments; Hsu, Jeff
Subject: Contact us message

Submitted from: http://www.kingcounty.gov/elections/aboutus/contactus.aspx

Submitted at 12:04:04 PM, on Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Name: Rachael Ann Levine

Subject: Voting

Description: I have already called in my concern that the ballot box was removed from the White Center Library location. Ironically, we have only one issue on the local ballot, and that is Proposition 1, which seeks an increase in the King County Library System’s regular property tax levy.

Several people have come into the library, seeking to drop their ballot as before. Now, they need to get a stamp and mail the ballot.

I have been told that the rationale for the removal of this ballot box was a “budgetary” one. Frankly, I question decisions that do not place
the highest priority on the socio-economic situation in a community. The basis for “successful” elections, in my view, is not the lack of
discrepancy in the ballots counted, as important as that is, but the accessibility and consequently participation in voting.

This community is already incensed about the way in which a sale of part of Puget Park to KCLS was attempted before the voter approved annexation of this property to Burien was completed. It is hard for some to realize that KCLS is separate from KC government. Yet, we can see how the decisions in one jurisdiction can profoundly affect those in another.

Meanwhile, thank you for the your hard work in providing an election system in which we can have confidence.

Also, if you haven’t voted by mail before, here’s a video that ‘splains things:

Vote by mail in King County: Process video from King County Elections on Vimeo.

If you haven’t yet mailed your ballot in, since today (Tuesday, Nov. 3rd) is election day, King County has drop boxes throughout the county that provide voters with a way to securely return ballots without the cost of postage.

The nearest drop box is located at the White Center Library, which is at 11220 16th SW. Drop boxes are open 24 hours a day, there’s no charge, but they close at 8pm tonight (Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3rd).

Of course, you can also just make sure your ballot is postmarked Nov. 3rd by going to the post office before it closes, but that’ll cost you 42 cents; plus, ya never know if your ballot will be lost…

Here’s more info on the ballot drop boxes from King County Elections:

How do I use a ballot drop box?
Carefully follow the instructions on the ballot envelope. Place the ballot in the security envelope, seal all envelopes, sign the outer envelope, and deposit your ballot packet into the box.

How do I know my ballot is secure?
Ballots are collected regularly from each drop box by King County Elections. Two official elections workers will use a chain of custody process to transport all ballots.

Ballot packets are delivered to the Elections facility where they are processed with other returned mail ballots. The signature on every ballot is checked against the voter’s registration file and if it matches, the ballot moves forward.

Here’s the list of nearby drop-off boxes (more are listed at the King County Elections website):

• White Center Library: 11220 16th S.W., Seattle, 98146
• Delridge: 5405 Delridge Way SW, 98106
• Tukwila, King County Elections Headquarters: 9010 East Marginal Way S, 98108
• Des Moines Library: 21620 11th Avenue S., 98198
• Federal Way Library: 848 S 320th St, 98003

If you’ve mailed your ballot in and want to check on its progress, you can do so online by clicking here and following instructions.

[Original Artwork by Danielle Burton.]