PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County voters have already returned 31.92 percent of their ballots by election day.
A total of 15,501 voters are registered for the primary election in the county, and 4,948 ballots had been returned by 5 p.m. Monday.
All ballots are due by 8 p.m. tonight.
Jefferson County has four races and one measure on the ballot.
The Port Townsend City Council Position 5 seat being vacated by Pamela Adams has drawn three contenders: Sky Hardesty-Thompson, Tyler Myles Vega and Libby Urner Wennstrom.
Four candidates are competing for the Sequim School Board Position 4 seat, now held by Brandino Gibson, who is not seeking reelection. They are Derek Huntington, Virginia Sheppard, Rachel Tax and Kristi Schmeck.
Port Ludlow Fire & Rescue District commission incumbent Ron Helmonds is challenged by Glenn Clemens and Mike Feely for the Position 3 seat.
Clallam County Fire District 3, which serves a small portion of East Jefferson County, has Jeff Nicholas, Sean Ryan and Duane Charnlee competing for the Position 1 seat now held by Michael Gawley.
The Quilcene Fire District Levy — written on the ballot as Jefferson County Fire Protection District No. 2 — is a six-year continuation of the current property tax levy of 50 cents or less per $1,000 of assessed property value, which, if approved, would take effect in 2023.
Voters can register in person up to 8 p.m. today to vote in the primary election at the county Auditor’s Office.
A voter registration and a voters guide tailored to the ballot is at voter.votewa.gov.
The Jefferson County Auditor’s Office is located on the first floor of the County Courthouse at 1820 Jefferson St. in Port Townsend. Voting accommodations are available. For information, call 360-385-9119.
If mailing the ballot today, it is recommended to have post office officials manually postmark the envelope to guarantee it won’t be considered late and hence invalid once it arrives at the Auditor’s Office.
Ballot drop boxes are open until 8 p.m. today.
Drop box locations for Jefferson County include:
• Port Townsend — Jefferson County Courthouse’s back parking lot and in front of the courthouse steps at 1820 Jefferson St.
• Port Hadlock — 620 Cedar Ave. at the Jefferson County Library next to the book drop in the parking lot.
• Quilcene — 294952 U.S. Highway 101 at the Quilcene Community Center.
• Port Ludlow — 93 Beaver Valley Road in the parking lot of the Olympic Peninsula Gateway Visitor Center.
More information on the Jefferson County elections can be found at https://co.jefferson.wa.us/1266/Elections.
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Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 5, or at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com.
