By Kirk Boxleitner

The deadline to return your ballot for the 2024 Jefferson County presidential primary election is Tuesday, March 12, at 8 p.m. at one of 10 local drop-box locations that can be found at voter.votewa.gov online.

County election officials recognize that the public might still have some questions as they fill out their ballots. Jefferson County Election Coordinator Quinn Grewell spoke to The Leader to address misconceptions some voters might harbor about the presidential primary election.

“We get a lot of calls asking how the presidential primary affects voting in future elections,” Grewell said. “The short answer is, it doesn’t. For this election only, voters must mark and sign a party declaration, but this selection does not affect how they may vote in future elections. Also, if a voter chooses not to participate in this election, it does not affect their eligibility to vote in any future elections.”

When asked if there are any mistakes that voters should take care to avoid as they fill out and submit their ballots, Grewell cited state law requiring that the signature on a voter’s return envelope must match the signature on that voter’s registration record for their ballot to be counted.

“That means we check every single signature on every single return envelope in every single election,” Grewell said. “Each election, many ballots are returned either without a signature or with a signature that doesn’t quite match.”

To help make sure voters’ signatures pass these checks, Grewell noted that signatures do not need to be written “in cursive, nicely or even legibly,” so long as they simply match whatever signatures the county has on those voters’ registration records.

“If a voter cannot remember, or has no idea, what signature they used when they registered to vote, or if it’s been a while and their signature might have changed, they can always update their signature, simply by returning a paper voter registration form or visiting our offices,” Grewell said.

Voters can download a paper registration form at: https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/voters/voter-registration/print-voter-registration-form

Grewell added that voters can track their ballot status, because if there’s an issue with a signature, it will be identified on the online ballot tracker.

Find the ballot tracker on the voter portal at voter.votewa.gov online.

“If there is an issue with a voter’s signature not matching, or if the voter didn’t sign the declaration, we will send the voter a cure letter,” Grewell said. “We will also reach out by phone, if we have the voter’s current phone number.”

If a voter receives a cure letter, they will need to fill it out and return it no later than 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 21.

In the meantime, ballots must be postmarked by March 12, although no stamp is required.

The county voting center is located in Room 170 of the Jefferson County Courthouse at 1820 Jefferson St. in Port Townsend. From now through Monday, March 11, it’s open Mondays through Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and on Election Day, March 12, it will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Call the county voting center with any questions at 360-385-9119