Whatcom County voters can disregard postcards from the U.S. Postal Service encouraging them to request a mail-in ballot at least 15 days before Election Day. Ballots will be automatically mailed to all registered voters on October 14.
The USPS sent a mailer to all households intending to help people vote by mail. Some of the information is inaccurate in Washington and other states with all-mail elections. The mailer instructs voters to “Request your mail-in ballot (often called “absentee” ballot) at least 15 days before Election Day.”
“Voters in Whatcom County do not need to request a ballot, as ballots are automatically mailed to all registered voters 20 days prior to Election Day,” said county auditor Diana Bradrick, in a press release. “There is no need to sign up or request to receive a mail-in ballot to vote in the upcoming election.”
County election officials and the Washington Secretary of State office were not made aware of the mailer or its content, the county auditor’s office said in a statement.
“By the time we learned of the mailer and reached out to the postal service, the mailers were already in the mail stream,” the statement said.
Voters can check the status of their registration now at votewa.gov. Voters should contact the auditor’s office if they have not received a ballot by October 21. Ballots must be postmarked by Election Day or received in a ballot drop-box by 8 p.m. on Election Day, November 3.
USPS recommends mailing at least a week before Election Day and voters are encouraged to check the last mailbox collection time in order to ensure their ballot will be postmarked in time, Bradrick said.
The 2020 general election is Tuesday, November 3.
Find more information on local elections at the auditor’s office, at co.whatcom.wa.us/auditor.
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