Your Hometown News Source
Your Hometown News Source
DAYTON–Concern over issues involving ballots delivered through the U.S. Postal Service has prompted Columbia County Auditor Anne Higgins to push the ballot mailing up by about four weeks.
“I plan to have them out early,” Higgins told the Dayton Chronicle Tuesday, indicating that she plans to mail ballots to Columbia County voters around September 15.
“I want people to have enough time to get the ballots back,” she said.
Other county auditors have been discussing earlier mailing dates, Higgins said, but she isn’t aware of any neighboring counties intending to mail early.
Many counties depend upon vendors for printing, which will affect mailing timelines, she noted. The local auditor’s office includes the equipment to print in house, so Higgins has more control over time constraints.
Higgins may be recommending placement of additional ballot boxes in the event voters are reluctant to use the mail. She is also urging local residents who travel south, “snowbirds,” to contact the Auditor’s Office to ensure proper delivery and return of ballots.
The Auditor’s Office is promoting voter registration this election year, offering a “swag bag” of gifts to voters who drop by the office to validate their registration, or unregistered citizens who get registered to vote.
In the August Primary Election, Auditor Higgins felt pride in the turnout seen in Columbia County.
Some 1,773 voters cast ballots out of 2,713 on the registration rolls, or 65.35%, she said.
“I was actually very proud of our voters, but I was disappointed that we weren’t in first place [among Washington counties],” she said. Edging Columbia County were Ferry and San Juan counties with 68%, and Jefferson and Garfield counties with 67%, followed by Columbia County.
Turnout for the Primary was the highest in recent memory, Higgins said.
