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Friday, July 20, 2018
ELECTION: Ballots are out and you won't have to pay postage
Posted By Samantha Wohlfeil on Fri, Jul 20, 2018 at 9:56 AM
Now that ballots for the August primary election have been mailed (and should arrive in your mailbox by today), it's a good time for a reminder that for this election and the November general election, the state will foot the bill for postage.
That means on top of the free drop boxes sprinkled around each county, ballots can be mailed in without a stamp in most cases, or with a stamp provided by your elections office.
Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman and Gov. Jay Inslee announced the state would pay for the mailing this year after King County opted to pay for postage for its own residents.
To avoid confusion among voters, and in the spirit of fairness, Wyman asked Inslee to help find the funds to pay for statewide postage this year. They will provide $1.2 million in grants to reimburse postage costs for the 38 counties outside of King County, which the two have asked the Legislature to reimburse for its costs next year.
It's also expected that next year, Wyman will ask the Legislature to add prepaid ballot postage to the budget to make the policy permanent.
That means on top of the free drop boxes sprinkled around each county, ballots can be mailed in without a stamp in most cases, or with a stamp provided by your elections office.
Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman and Gov. Jay Inslee announced the state would pay for the mailing this year after King County opted to pay for postage for its own residents.
To avoid confusion among voters, and in the spirit of fairness, Wyman asked Inslee to help find the funds to pay for statewide postage this year. They will provide $1.2 million in grants to reimburse postage costs for the 38 counties outside of King County, which the two have asked the Legislature to reimburse for its costs next year.
It's also expected that next year, Wyman will ask the Legislature to add prepaid ballot postage to the budget to make the policy permanent.
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