King County Ballots Are Due Tuesday by 8 p.m. — Drop Boxes, Vote Centers, and the Hours That Matter
Drop boxes close at 8 p.m. sharp on Tuesday, November 3, and Vote Centers are open today. Here is the county's full service schedule for the final days.
Washington's election now runs on a deadline, and King County's version of it is simple: ballots are due Tuesday, and the surest way to make one count is an official drop box by 8 p.m.
King County mailed ballots on October 14 and opened its official drop boxes on October 15. A ballot returned to a drop box must be in by 8 p.m. sharp on Tuesday, November 3. A mailed ballot must carry a postmark dated by November 3 — and because the Postal Service recommends mailing at least a week early, county and state officials are steering late voters to drop boxes instead — Governor Bob Ferguson spent Friday making the same case in person, returning his own ballot to a drop box in Thurston County. King County has roughly 100 drop boxes across the county.
Vote Centers are the full-service option, and they are open today. Hours: Saturday, October 31, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Monday, November 2, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Election Day until 8 p.m. At a Vote Center, voters can register or update their registration in person right up to 8 p.m. on Election Day — the online and mail registration deadline passed on October 26, but the in-person door stays open.
King County Elections projects 75% turnout for this election.
If your ballot never arrived, call King County Elections at 206-296-8683. Ballot tracking, with text and email alerts, is available through the county, so a voter can watch a ballot move from returned to counted.
Tuesday's 8 p.m. line is sharp — ballots in drop boxes at 8:01 p.m. do not count. The weekend is the margin.
