Small Town News

Keep ballots timely, auditor reminds voters

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It's a busy time of year for the county auditor. The election is coming soon--Nov. 3--and ballots will soon start flooding her office.

That's if all goes well. "Voter turn out in the primary was low," says Brenda Sorensen, Klickitat County Auditor, whose office is responsible for supervising elections in the county, among many other things. "I think it was about 30 percent."

She looks up the actual figure, which turns out to 29.49 percent of all eligible voters who turned in ballots in the primary.

Sorensen, on the job since November of 2006, would like to see a more substantial voter response in the upcoming election, though she also emphasizes the need for voters to be timely in their ballot returns.

"We are a vote-by-mail county," she says. "This past primary election, we continued to receive ballots long after election day. I'd like to remind people that they need to either postmark their ballots by election day or have them dropped in the ballot box."

Sorensen emphasizes the need to take the appropriate steps required to get a ballot to count. If voters wait until Election Day to mail their ballots, they are encouraged to go into the post office and request to have their ballot hand stamped. Doing so will ensure the ballot's eligibility. Ballots need to be either delivered to a ballot box, the Auditor's office or post-marked by 8 p.m. election day.

The calendar is ruthless. Election day is the 3rd; if a ballot is post-marked the 4th, a voter is considered to have voted, but that's it.

"Their ballot won't be opened or counted, Sorensen says. "We'll scan the envelope and mark it as being received with a late postmark, but they're not included in the mix."

The county has made it easier to return ballots.

"We have two remote boxes," Sorensen says, "one in White Salmon in the Pioneer Center parking lot adjacent to the post office, and one here in Goldendale at West Court and South Columbus Avenue that is handicap accessible on either side, or you can drive up to it. We also have a drop box in the office as well."

Of course, many will rely on the postal service to deliver their ballots to the county auditor--provided they get them in the mail in time.

"This past primary election, we continued to receive ballots long after election day."

Brenda Sorensen, Klickitat County Auditor



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© 2010 The Goldendale Sentinel Goldendale, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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