From the Office of the Thurston County Auditor on Facebook:
While we are seeing some concerning trends with ballots returned by mail, I want to start by recognizing the great job Thurston County voters are doing by using official ballot drop boxes.
During the recent primary election, Thurston County voters did a great job. About 76% of voters used official ballot drop boxes, which is up from 66% in 2022. Because so many people used drop boxes, almost all ballots arrived on time to be counted.
However, we are seeing serious problems with mail delivery through the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). Voters are following all the rules, but mail delays are causing many ballots to arrive way too late.
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The Problem with Mail Delivery
By law, we must certify the election by a specific deadline. For the primary, that date was August 18, 2026, two weeks after Election Day. Any ballot that arrives after this date cannot be counted, even if it was mailed on time.
We are seeing two main problems with the post office:
Slow Mail: Many people mailed their ballots well before Election Day, but the ballots sat in post office sorting centers for weeks. In one case, a ballot was mailed in late July but didn’t reach our office until after the August 18 deadline. It took 19 days to arrive, so it could not be counted.
Ballots sent Between Counties: In Washington State, you can drop your ballot into any official drop box in the state. Other counties collect those ballots and mail them back to us using USPS Priority Mail. In the past, this worked well. But this year, mail sent on August 5 didn’t reach us until August 24, six days after the deadline.
So far, our office has received 70 valid ballots that arrived after the certification deadline. This has never happened before, and it means those votes could not be counted. One ballot took 19 days to reach us.
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What We Are Doing for November
No voter should lose their vote when they’ve followed every rule.
To fix this for the November election, we will no longer rely on the post office to send ballots between counties. Instead, our team will personally drive to neighboring counties to pick up and hand-deliver these ballots ourselves. Even though this costs extra money and time, it is necessary to make sure every vote counts.
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How You Can Help & Helpful Resources
The safest way to make sure your vote is counted is to use an official ballot drop box instead of putting your ballot in the mail.
Visit VoteWA.gov to check your voter registration, track your ballot, or find a drop box near you.
For local election information, visit the Thurston County Auditor’s Office website to see the official 2026 election schedule and updates.
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