Whatcom County residents who need to register to vote or update their registration before the August 4 primary election have until Monday, July 27 to do so online or by mail. After that deadline, registration and updates must happen in person at the Whatcom County Auditor's Office, where election-week lines are expected to be long.
What You Need to Do Before July 27
Washington State makes voter registration straightforward. You can register online or update your existing registration at VoteWA.gov, the state's official voter registration portal, up until the July 27 deadline. The process takes a few minutes and requires a Washington State driver's license or ID number, or the last four digits of your Social Security number if you do not have a state ID. Washington also allows same-day registration in person at the auditor's office through election day itself, but the in-person option during election week is expected to involve significant wait times.
If your name, address, or other registration information has changed since the last time you voted, updating your registration before the deadline ensures your ballot goes to the right address and is processed without a provisional ballot flag. Provisional ballots are counted, but they require additional verification steps that can delay processing and, in rare cases, result in a ballot not being counted if the verification cannot be completed. People who have recently moved within Whatcom County are particularly encouraged to update their address now rather than waiting until they notice a problem.
Ballots for the August 4 primary were mailed out on Wednesday, July 15. If you are a registered voter in Whatcom County and have not yet received your ballot, contact the Whatcom County Auditor's Election Division directly to request a replacement. A replacement ballot can be issued and mailed or made available for pickup. The auditor's office can be reached through the elections page at whatcomcounty.us.
How to Return Your Ballot
Ballots must either be received at an official drop box by 8 p.m. on August 4 or be postmarked by August 4 if returned by mail. The U.S. Postal Service recommends mailing your ballot by Tuesday, July 28 to ensure it arrives in time. If you are filling out your ballot in the final few days before the election, dropping it off at a drop box is the safer and more reliable option. Drop boxes are secure, monitored, and collected on a regular schedule leading up to election day, eliminating any uncertainty about postal transit times.
Whatcom County maintains drop box locations throughout the county, including sites in Bellingham, Ferndale, Lynden, Blaine, Birch Bay, and other communities. A full list of drop box locations is available at whatcomcounty.us/1863/Ballot-Drop-Box-Locations. The Western Washington University campus drop box is among the locations listed, making it convenient for students who are registered in Whatcom County. For students who registered at their home address outside the county, absentee ballot requests through their home county auditor remain an option, though timing is tight at this stage.
What's on the August 4 Ballot
The August primary includes several competitive races of significant local interest. Voters will choose among candidates for the Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney's office, where four candidates are seeking to win the top-two spots that advance to the November general election. The Port of Bellingham has two district seats on the ballot, Districts 4 and 5, both of which have seen multiple candidates file. Legislative races in the 40th District and 42nd District are also on the primary ballot. The 40th District race features incumbent Representative Alex Ramel facing three challengers, including a business owner from Bellingham, a stone mason from Orcas Island, and a fourth candidate whose background includes mechanical engineering. The top two vote-getters from each race advance to November regardless of party affiliation under Washington's top-two primary system.
For voters who want to research candidates before filling out their ballot, the League of Women Voters of Bellingham and Whatcom County has posted pre-recorded candidate interviews at lwvbellinghamwhatcom.org. The organization is nonpartisan and does not endorse candidates. The state voters' guide, which includes statements from candidates in every contested race, is available online through the Washington Secretary of State's office and was also mailed to registered households in the county.
Primary elections determine which candidates appear on the November ballot, making them a consequential step even when they attract lower turnout than general elections. In Whatcom County's prosecuting attorney race, all four candidates are competing for two general election spots, meaning two will be eliminated entirely after August 4. The prosecuting attorney position oversees criminal charging decisions across the county and carries significant influence over how the criminal justice system operates locally. Getting your ballot returned by July 28 through the mail, or by drop box any time before 8 p.m. on August 4, is the most important action registered voters can take before the primary closes.
