Clark County Elections Supervisor Cathie Garber has a message: your vote matters.
“I really encourage people to let their voice be heard, and we encourage them to vote their ballot and get it in,” Garber said.
The county elections office recently added a fifth drop-off box to make it more convenient for voters. And yet, election officials already lowered their initial voter turnout prediction from 38 percent to 30 percent. Garber, an “eternal optimist,” said she hopes Clark County voters prove the elections division wrong and that turnout is higher.
In Clark County, 260,682 ballots were mailed to voters. On Thursday, the elections office reported 11.8 percent of ballots have been returned so far.
Ballots need to be postmarked by Aug. 2 to be valid. A list of all of the drop boxes and more than 30 Election Day-only drop sites were included with each ballot.
Although the presidential election captures much of people’s attention, Clark County voters have an opportunity to weigh in on a number of important local races, including for the 3rd Congressional District seat, a number of state legislative positions and some Clark County council seats.
The races for Clark County council Districts 3 and 4 have the potential to drastically change the current makeup of the county board. After serving for eight years in District 4, Republican Tom Mielke is retiring and Republicans Eileen Quiring and Jennifer McDaniel, as well as Democrat Roman Battan, are vying to replace him. District 3 incumbent Republican David Madore, a controversial figure in county politics, is seeking a second term. Democrat Tanisha Harris and Republican John Blom are both hoping to unseat him.
U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Camas, will have to fend off a number of challengers to keep her seat.
Because Washington has a top-two primary system, both state Rep. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, and Democrat Tim Probst will move to the general election in their race for the 17th Legislative District Senate seat. Both are running to replace longtime Republican Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver, who is retiring.
Wilson’s decision to run for the state Senate opened up her seat in the House. There are six candidates running for the seat. Republican Jerry Oliver, a Port of Vancouver commissioner, who approved the proposed crude-by-rail terminal at the port is running. Democrat Don Orange, a local small businessman and vocal critic of the oil terminal project, is also vying for the seat. Republican Vicki Kraft, Democrats Joshua Egan and Rob Frisina and independent Democrat Sam Kim also are hoping to represent the 17th District in Olympia.
Lauren Dake: 360-735-4534; twitter.com/LaurenDake; lauren.dake@columbian.com
