Are You Ready For The King County August Primary?

SEATTLE, WA — OK, it's the night before Election Day. You haven't voted and you're not even registered to vote. So you're up a creek without a paddle, right?

Wrong. Thanks to Washington's brand new same-day registration law, you can register AND vote on Election Day up until 8 p.m. on Tuesday. That means there's still time for you to weigh in on the 50-plus items on the ballot, from local city council and mayoral races, to local school races and county-wide ballot measures.

It's an important election and your voice counts — plus, Molly Moon's ice cream stores are giving out free scoops on Aug. 6 to anyone who displays a ballot stub.

Here's the scoop on local races, how to vote and much more.

Voting

Your ballot should've arrived by July 22. If you didn't get one, call King County Elections at 206-296-VOTE (8683).

You can mail your ballot as long as it's postmarked by Aug. 6. But if you haven't mailed your ballot yet — and postage is FREE again for this election — your best bet is to put it in a drop box. The boxes are open 24-7 up until 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

King County also operates five in-person vote centers where people with disabilities can cast a ballot with help from elections staff.

Same-day Registration

Speaking of those vote centers, that's where you'll go if you still need to register on Aug. 6. You'll need to bring your driver license and have your Social Security number ready. You can also use these centers to change your voter information or get a replacement ballot.

What's On The Ballot?

No matter where you live, you'll have at least one thing to vote for.

At the county level, voters are being asked to renew the King County Parks Levy. The six-year, $810 million levy will cost property owners about 18.32 cents per $1,000 of assessed value in 2020. The levy will be used to maintain and expand parks, zoos, hiking trails and much more.

Meanwhile, voters in the Kirkland area will be asked to approve a $345 million EvergreenHealth bond measure. The public hospital district wants to build a new mental health facility, upgrade the maternity area and make seismic retrofits, among other improvements.

But city council, school board and mayoral elections dominate the 2019 August primary. Nineteen cities have municipal races going on, including races in Renton and Redmond to replace long-serving mayors John Marchione and Denis Law.

In Seattle, an astounding 55 people are running in seven City Council races. Independent groups have already spent over $800,000 influencing the election, and the race has had photoshopped campaign ads, 911 calls made over stolen campaign signs, and "Trump-like fear-mongering" — and it's not even the general election yet.

Then there's the Port of Seattle races, school board elections (Shoreline, Seattle, Issaquah, Renton, Highland, and Lake Washington), two King County Council primaries, plus six special purpose district elections. And, voters in Seattle will be asked to approve a new library levy.

Patch 2019 Primary Candidate Interviews

• King County Council D2 Race: Gossett, Zahily Candidate Questions
• Meet The 2019 Bellevue City Council Candidates
• Renton Patch 2019 City Council, Mayoral Candidate Questionnaires
• Mercer Island 2019 Candidate Quiz: Position 7 Council Race
• 10 Questions For All 55 Seattle City Council Candidates
• Shoreline 2019 Primary Guide: City Council Position 4 Race
• Redmond 2019 Primary Guide: Mayor, Council Candidate Interviews

Election Results

King County will begin reporting initial election results at around 8 p.m. on Tuesday, and Patch will report them as soon as they're available. If you haven't already, sign up for Patch news alerts to get results ASAP.

It's possible some races will be close, so the results might not be clear on Tuesday night. Ballots will continue to be counted throughout the week, and vote totals will change.

After the primary, there will only be two candidates per contested race.

Important Links

• List of all candidates running in King County August Primary Election
• Ballot measures in the August Primary Election
• 2019 King County Video Voters Guide

Endorsements

• Seattle Times
• The Stranger
• Seattle Chamber of Commerce
• NARAL Pro-Choice Washington
• FUSE Progressive Voters Guide
• King County Democrats
• King County Young Democrats
• Sierra Club
• Alliance For Gun Responsibility