The first thing that Snohomish County voters need to know is that their votes for local ballot measures will be counted even if they dont vote in the presidential primary race, according to Carolyn Diepenbrock.
Diepenbrock is the Snohomish County Auditor and she wants county voters to understand how to submit their ballots for the Feb. 19 primary election so that their votes will be counted.
The presidential primary election does require registered voters to affiliate with a political party, by voting only with the party they have chosen. However, a voters party choice is only for the presidential primary election, so theyre not required to vote as a member of that party in later elections. Voters can also vote for non-partisan issues without declaring a party affiliation.
The non-partisan issues for Arlington, Darrington and Lakewood are all school district propositions. The Arlington School Districts Proposition 1 would replace its expiring school programs and operations levy. The Darrington School Districts Proposition 1 would replace its expiring maintenance and operations levy, while its Proposition 2 is a student transportation levy. The Lakewood School Districts Proposition 1 would also replace its expiring school programs and operation levy, while its Proposition 2 is a technology capital projects levy.
Diepenbrock said that community collection centers will be open Feb. 14-16 and Feb. 18 from 2-8 p.m., as well as Feb. 19 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., but added that they will be closed Feb. 17. She reminded voters that Feb. 18 is a federal and postal holiday, even though community collection centers will be open that day, so they should keep that in mind when mailing their ballots in time to be postmarked by Feb. 19.
In Arlington, the collection centers are located at the Food Pavilion on 146 Haller St. E. and at the Starbucks on 3617 172nd Ave. NE. In Marysville, the collection centers are located at the Staples at 105 Fourth St., and at the Starbucks on 3701 88th St. NE. Marysville also has a disabled access voting site, at its Sno-Isle Library on 6120 Grove St., which will be open Feb. 14-16 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., as well as Feb. 19 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Diepenbrock explained that voters who wish to vote in the presidential primary race must mark only one party box on the purple return envelope, and vote for only one candidate on the ballot, whose political party matches the voters choice on the purple return envelope. Voting for more than one party or candidate will cancel that vote. She emphasized that voters who do not wish to vote in the presidential primary race may still vote for non-partisan issues, and have those votes count.
For more information, call 425-388-3444, or log onto www.snoco.org/departments/auditor. The Snohomish County Democratic Party Web site is located at www.snohomishdemocrats.org, while the Snohomish County Republican Party Web site is located at www.snocogop.com.