Ballots go out this week; Olalla has a new drop box; Hansville box moves

PORT ORCHARD – Voters will begin receiving General Election ballots this week, the Hansville drop box has moved and voters in Olalla now have a drop box of their own.

Voters throughout the entire county will have a chance to elect candidates in cities, school districts, fire districts, port districts, utility districts and park districts. Voters living in the South Kitsap School District boundaries will also have a funding measure to consider. Ballots will be mailed this week and could begin arriving before the work week is over.

In Hansville the ballot drop box was moved to a location that will allow voters to deposit their ballots without getting out of their cars. The box was moved to the parking lot of the Buck Lake County Park at 6959 Buck Lane Road NE, Hansville, WA 98340.

“The old site served voters well, except they had to get out of their cars and walk on a short, unpaved path to get to the box. In wet weather, that’s certainly not ideal,” said Paul Andrews, Kitsap County Auditor.

In Olalla voters will have a drop box at a location nearly everyone in the area knows, the Olalla Bay Market & Landing at 13965 Crescent Valley Road SE, Olalla, WA 98359.

“We were happy to provide a drop box closer to home for a strong community of voters,” Andrews said.

The county will have 26 drop boxes open for the election. The Local Voters’ Pamphlet was mailed last week and is available online at kcowa.us/lvp.

Kitsap County Elections recommends using ballot drop boxes to return ballots, but voters can also do so by mail without postage. Voters returning their ballots by mail should do so by October 31st, a week ahead of the election.

Online and mail registrations and address changes must be received by October 30th. Residents can register to vote in person at the Kitsap County Auditor’s Office, 619 Division Street in Port Orchard from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Residents can also register to vote at one of three vote centers from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday, November 4th and Monday, November 6th. The vote centers will be be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day, November 7th.

Vote Center locations:

Kitsap County Administration Building, 619 Division Street, Port Orchard, WA 98366;
Marvin Williams Recreation Center, 725 Park Avenue, Bremerton, WA 98337
Poulsbo Fire Station, 911 Liberty Road, Poulsbo, WA, 98370.

Ballots must be returned to one of the county’s drop boxes by 8 p.m. on November 7th, or postmarked by that day.

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