Ballots are being sent out to Spokane County voters early this year. Here’s why, along with info about the upcoming general elections

More than 360,000 ballots will be postmarked and mailed to voters all over Spokane County this week.

The ballots for the Nov. 5 general election will either enter the mailstream Wednesday or Thursday, Spokane County Auditor Vicki Dalton said in a phone interview. Voters should expect to see ballots arrive in their mailboxes next week.

Voters in the county might be surprised this year to hear their ballots are being mailed out sooner than in previous years.

“It’s to make up for the (Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Columbus Day) Holiday,” Dalton said, “because it’s on a Monday and it falls right smack at the beginning of when we would be sending ballots out. The other reason is the U.S. Postal Service is experiencing longer delivery periods than what we had four years ago.”

Any voters who live in Spokane County who do not receive a ballot in the mail by the end of business on Friday, Oct. 18, are instructed to call the county elections office at 509-477-2320 to report the issue.

Voters should also be on the lookout for two voters’ pamphlets in their mailboxes – one local Spokane County pamphlet and one state pamphlet. Some counties surrounding Spokane County this year decided to combine their local and state voters’ guides into one pamphlet, Dalton added.

Ballots for the upcoming general election will be due in local drop boxes or postmarked and placed in a mailbox by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5. That time and date is also the deadline to fill out a voter registration in person.

People who fill out their voter registration online or via mail must do so no later than Oct. 28.

The elections process in Spokane County will look very similar to recent years, Dalton said. But one big change this year is the creation of two Voter Service Centers that will open up to the public in the days leading up to the Nov. 5 voting deadline.

“We really recommend that people on the Monday and Tuesday of election week not come to the regular elections office,” Dalton said. “We really want them to come to one of the service centers.”

The two service cen ters will offer voter registration and replacement ballot services, along with an assisted voting unit to help voters with vision or mobility impairments navigate their ballots.

About 40% of the registered voters in Spokane County cast a ballot in the Aug. 6 primary election this year. That’s 10% less than the amount who showed up for the August primary in 2020, the most recent presidential election year.

The statewide turnout rates for August primaries in 2020 and 2024 looked pretty similar to Spokane County, although the state saw a 5% greater voter turnout in 2020 than Spokane County did.

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said the relatively low voter turnout in the August primary was something he anticipated.

“I think it had a combination of different issues,” Hobbs said. “One, I think people were undecided on who they were going to vote for governor, and all these other races that had multiple candidates here.”

More than 84% of voters in Spokane County and across the state cast a ballot in the 2 020 general election. Voter turnout in the county and state historically looks far higher in general election years that coincide with a presidential election.

Hobbs said he anticipates statewide voter turnout in November will exceed 80%.

For more information on the upcoming Nov. 5 election, visit the Spokane County Elections website. If you have a question about the voting process, email the Spokane County Elections Office at elections@spokanecounty.gov or call 509-477-2320.