Shoreline Voters Will Get Free Postage For February Election

SHORELINE, WA - Now, there's really no excuse not to vote.

King County is testing pre-paid return envelopes for ballots in the upcoming Shoreline special election. Once you fill out your ballot, all you'll have to do is find a place to mail it. Usually, voters are responsible for buying postage to send their ballots back.

The Feb. 14 special election in Shoreline deals with a bond issue to upgrade schools. Ballots should be arriving in local mailboxes this week.

“This is something I’ve wanted to test since I ran for office,” King County Elections Director Julie Wise said in a press release. “Pre-paid postage is another tool to remove barriers to voting and increase convenience – and this pilot will help us understand what it might look like for King County.”

The county will only pay for returned ballots, and it's estimating this test will cost about $9,000. The county is estimating a 30 percent turnout rate for the Shoreline election, but wants to measure if the pre-paid return envelopes might cause an increase in voting.

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