PORT ANGELES — More than 52 percent of registered voters in Clallam County have returned ballots in the Nov. 8 general election.
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.
“I knew it was going to be a big ballot” and so added an extra day for processing, said Auditor Shoona Riggs after she and her staff processed 1,453 ballots Saturday.
Voter turnout in the last presidential election in 2012 was 85.76 percent. Riggs predicts that 86 percent of registered voters will return ballots in this year’s election.
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 Jefferson County turnout is the highest of any county in the state.
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:
• Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles. Drive-up drop boxes are provided on the circular drive and directly across from disabled parking.
• Auditor’s Office in the county courthouse, Suite 1, which will have extended hours Monday and Tuesday. It will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.
• Sequim Village Shopping Center, near the J.C. Penney store, 651 W. Washington St.
• Forks District Court lobby, 502 E. Division St.
The Clallam County Auditor’s Office is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
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 voter guide is available online at www.peninsuladailynews.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 on the Peninsula, go to http://tinyurl.com/PDN-clallam electionsoffice. The phone number is 360-417-2221.