Primary election ballots will go out this week, and can be mailed in or dropped off at several locations including this box in front of Twisp Town Hall.
Mail-ins, drop-offs due by Aug. 4
Ballots for the Aug. 4 primary election are being mailed to county voters this week.
If you have not received a ballot by July 24, contact the Okanogan County Auditor’s Office at (509) 422-7240.
Voters are encouraged to mail in their ballots prior to July 31 to ensure the envelopes are postmarked by Election Day. Check with your local post office for cut-off times. The mail-in ballots include free postage.
In addition, drop boxes will be open through 8 p.m. on Aug. 4. Drop box locations are:
• Twisp — 118 S. Glover St., Town Hall.
• Tonasket — City Hall/Library Complex, 209 S. Whitcomb Ave.
• Omak — next to police station, 8 N. Ash.
• Omak — 12 Tribes Casino parking lot.
• Pateros –180 Pateros Mall in parking lot.
• Coulee Dam — City Hall, 300 Lincoln Ave.
• Oroville — police station.
All returned ballots must be signed.
The Auditors Office, at 149 Third Ave. N. in Okanogan, is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-4 p.m., and until 8 p.m. on Election Day, for the following services: voter registration; dropping off voted ballots; obtaining replacement ballots; and using disability access voting units. July 27 is the deadline for receiving new voter registrations online or in the mail. Call (509) 422-7240 for more information.
Information sources include:
• Online voters guide — http://www.vote.wa.gov.
• http://www.votewa.gov/Okanogan.
• http://www.sos.wa.gov/elections.
If you are not currently registered in Washington, you can appear in person in the Auditor’s Office until Aug. 4, register and be able to vote in the primary election.
Filing for local elected officials closed May 15. Only incumbent Mike Steele, a Republican, filed for the 12th Legislative District Position 2 seat. Incumbent District 12 Sen. Brad Hawkins is also unchallenged.
First-term incumbent 12th Legislative District Rep. Keith Goehner (R-Dryden) is being challenged by Adrianne Moore, a Winthrop resident and nonprofits manager, who is running as a Democrat.
First-term incumbent County Commissioner Andy Hover, running for re-election to the District 2 seat on the commission as a Republican, is being challenged by Katie Haven, a sheep rancher who lives in the lower Methow Valley and is running as a Democrat.
District 1 County Commissioner Chris Branch of Omak is running for re-election and will be challenged by Shauna Beeman, also of Omak. Branch declares no party preference; Beeman declared as a Republican.
In the primary, only residents of District 2 (which includes the Methow Valley) will vote for either Hover or Haven, while only residents of District 1 will vote for either Branch or Beeman.
Neither of the incumbent Okanogan County Superior Court judges, Chris Culp (Position 2) and Henry “Hank” Rawson (Position 1), will face challengers for the nonpartisan positions.
Scott Verjaska of Omak, the incumbent Okanogan County Public Utility District commissioner for District 1, will be challenged by Brian Evans, also of Omak.
The 4th U.S. Congressional District race will feature a crowded primary. Incumbent Dan Newhouse, a Republican, faces five other candidates (the top two vote-getters in the primary will advance to the November general election): Ryan Cooper of Pasco (Libertarian); Tracy “Justice” Wright of Grand Coulee (Republican); Douglas E. Mckinley of Richland (Democrat); Evan Jones of Richland (Republican); and Sarena Sloot of Kennewick (Republican).
