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Election Day in WA: What to expect on Tuesday
Today starts a consequential week for Republicans and Democrats across the nation. Tomorrow, elections in several states - including here in Washington - will gauge how voters feel in the first year of President Donald Trump's second term.
SEATTLE - The clock is ticking if you haven’t sent in your ballot in for the General Election. Voting ends at 8 p.m. on Tuesday.
FOX 13 Seattle cameras captured a steady stream of people dropping off their ballots on Monday. Each of them with the same goal: to make their voices heard.
"Washington state makes it so easy to vote, there’s no excuse," said voter Dawn Frederyk.
King County Elections Communications Manager Halei Watkins told FOX 13 Seattle that turning your ballot in at a drop box is the best way of ensuring your vote gets counted.
"The best thing to do is make sure you get your ballot in a drop box before 8 p.m. on Election Day, our drop boxes close at 8 p.m. sharp," Watkins said.
From Ballard to Bellevue, there are 554 drop boxes across the state of Washington, according to the Secretary of State's Office.
Ballot drop boxes (green) and voting centers (yellow) across Washington state.
People can also take their ballot to a voting center.
What they're saying:
"Normally I mail it, but I just don’t trust it anymore," said fellow voter Michael Winters. "The only thing that feels safe to me is this — is to come down here and put it in."
FOX 13 Seattle also met Frederyk as she was dropping off her ballot on Tuesday. "It’ll make it easier on all the ballot workers," she said.
Voters can still send their ballot through the mail, but make sure it has an Election Day postmark.
"At this point, we just wouldn’t trust a postmark to come through, so make sure you’re dropping it in the drop box to make sure it’s counted on time," Watkins said.
Will the government shutdown affect voting on Election Day?
Dig deeper:
With the government shutdown, some are concerned that will factor in how quickly ballots are mailed, but the U.S. Postal Service previously issued a statement saying its operations will not be affected by the shutdown, and all post offices remain open for business as usual.
Regardless of how you choose to submit your ballot, there is one way to ensure that your vote gets counted.
"We strongly recommend that every voter track their ballot until it's counted and the best way to do that is by signing up for our ballot alerts where you’ll get text or emails about where your ballot is in the process," Watkins said.
She adds, those who sign up for the alerts will get a text when their ballot is received, when their signature is verified and when their ballot is ready to count. They will also get an alert if there’s an issue with their signature.
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The Source: Information in this story comes from original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle reporter Shirah Matsuzawa.