What pen do I use? How do I fix mistakes? Q&A about filling out your ballot in Yakima County

Yakima County voters should have received their ballots in the mail by now. They can be returned through ballot collection boxes or U.S.

Postal Service for free. Yakima County Auditor Charles Ross said 6,000 ballots had been turned in as of Oct. 22.



Ross is pushing for people to vote early and avoid long lines on Election Day, Nov. 5. “We’re preaching to voters — please complete your ballot early,” he said.

The Yakima Herald-Republic articles on candidates and races can be found for free online. Local coverage in Spanish is available at elsoldeyakima.com .

Who you vote for is up to you, but here are some questions and answers about filling out your ballot in Yakima County. If you have more questions, contact the Yakima County Auditor’s Office at 509-574-1340. What’s in my ballot envelope? A sample ballot envelope for the 2024 election in Yakima County.

Instructions for voting are included with ballots in Yakima County for the 2024 election. A sample ballot in Yakima County for the 2024 election. Yakima County's 2024 ballots have two pages.

Sample ballot return envelope (top) and security pocket (bottom) for the 2024 election in Yakima County. Each Yakima County voter should have an envelope with four things: • Instructions for filling out and returning your ballot • A two-page ballot where you will vote • A security pocket to protect your ballot • A return envelope with prepaid postage for your ballot and security pocket “The ballot itself has answers to all your questions,” said Martha Jiménez, a bilingual analyst for the Yakima County Elections Office. “When you first open up your ballot, you’re going to see instructions on there.

The instructions go into detail in regard to how you’re going to fill out your ballot.” What do I use to mark my ballot? Elections officials recommend using blue or black ink and completely filling in boxes to select your choices for candidates and initiatives. “If you use pencil, it’s OK.

It just means there’s going to be a little bit more of a delay when it comes to counting your ballot. There’s additional steps that go into place when that happens,” Jiménez said. What is the space for write-in candidates? You don’t have to choose between the two candidates named on the ballot.

Those candidates finished in the top two in primary elections, but you can write in another name. Write-in candidates must register with the auditor’s office or secretary of state’s office to win an election, and their results will only be announced if they win. Those write-in votes will still be accepted if names are slightly misspelled.

What if I make a mistake filling out my ballot? That’s OK, Jiménez said. There’s a way to cross out your selection and then mark what you really want to do. “If you make a mistake, there’s also instructions,” Jiménez said.

“You make one line, straight across from the rectangle to cross out that previous selection and then you’re more than welcome to make a new selection.” Do I have to return both pages of the ballot? For the first time since Yakima County has used vote-by-mail, the ballot has two pages. Jiménez said it’s important that both pages are returned.

It won’t disqualify your ballot, but it makes processing your vote easier. “What we’re recommending and encouraging voters to do once you vote, even if you don’t in every contest, is that you return both pages of that ballot. If you don’t, it’s going to slow down the counting process and more steps will go into play,” she said.

Make sure you sign your ballot. Once you fill out your ballot, place it in the security pocket and place the security pocket in the return envelope. You must sign that return envelope or your ballot does not count.

Elections officials use voter signatures to verify that your ballot is really your ballot. “It’s very important that voters, on that return envelope, ensure that they themselves sign that return envelope. That’s how we’re going to validate that ballot,” Jiménez said.

Elections staff use the signature from paper voter registrations or signature update forms that voters may have filled out when registering to vote. They also have signatures on file from state licenses or permits, like a driver's license. “Typically, we have more than one signature on file for the voter,” Jiménez said.

Staff members "have been trained by Washington State Patrol to look at those signatures, look for those variances and identify that it was indeed that voter who signed their ballot.” If the signature does not match, Yakima County staff will contact that voter through mail, email and phone to try and fix the problem. What goes on the return envelope? You must sign your ballot on the return envelope.

Next to your signature, you can put the date and a phone number. Ross, the county auditor, said elections officials can use that date to verify timely ballots coming in from the post office. “If it goes through the post office and misses the postmarking, that date is the next place we look,” Ross said.

He also suggested voters add a phone number. It is not public record, he said, and is the easiest way of getting in touch with voters if elections officials have questions about your ballot. How do you return your ballot? Washington state’s elections are vote by mail.

Ballots are mailed to registered voters, and can be returned by U.S. mail or in an official ballot collection box.

A list of locations is posted on the Yakima County Auditor’s Office website. Voters can drive up or walk up to the drop boxes. More questions and answers about returning ballots are on the Yakima Herald's website.

How do I check on my ballot? You can check on your ballot status at www.votewa.gov .

Once you’ve voted and turned in your ballot, the website will tell you if the Auditor’s Office has received your ballot. What if something is wrong with my ballot? Yakima County elections officials will contact voters by mail, phone and email if there is a problem with a ballot, like a mismatched signature. Voting early can give elections officials more time to troubleshoot and solve any issues.

Tens of thousands of ballots come in election night and there could just be a few days to resolve any issues after that. What if I need a new ballot? If you need a replacement ballot, contact the Yakima County Auditor's Office. Staff members will issue a new ballot and invalidate the old one.

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