 Believe it or not, ballots for the August Primary Election have already been mailed to more than 1.4 million King County voters! If your ballot hasn’t arrived yet, give King County Elections a call at 206-296-VOTE (8683).
Remember you can mail your ballot at no cost (just make sure it’s postmarked by Election Day!), or use one of the 76 ballot drop boxes open across King County. King County Elections will have six Vote Center locations open on Saturday, July 30, Monday, August 1 and Tuesday, August 2, where voters can register to vote, update their registration, get a replacement ballot, or use an accessible voting unit. Voters can also register online or by mail until Monday, July 25.
Finally, for those interested in elections data, King County Elections has released new data tools to watch the primary in real time, including ballot drop box returns, ballot return statistics, signature challenge data, voter turnout and registration maps, and more:
Remember to return your ballot by 8pm on election day (Tuesday, August 2). To learn more about the August primary election, visit the King County Elections website:
Standing against voter intimidation
 These signs appear to be a targeted effort undertaken by party-affiliated activists to intimidate and dissuade voters from using secure ballot drop boxes. Voter intimidation is outlawed at both the state and federal level
You may have recently heard reports of suspicious and intimidating signs placed near ballot drop boxes, warning voters that the drop box is “under surveillance.” The signs feature a QR code for placing “election incident” reports. Located around King County, these signs appear to be a targeted effort undertaken by party-affiliated activists to intimidate and dissuade voters from using secure ballot drop boxes.
To be clear: Voter intimidation is outlawed at both the state and federal level.
King County has had all-mail voting for over a decade and our system works. Our vote by mail and drop box system is safe, secure and transparent. There is no place in our democracy for underhanded attempts to scare people out of exercising their constitutional right to vote. King County Elections is standing up to these latest efforts at voter intimidation and I stand with them.
 King County leads the nation in providing secure and inclusive elections
Finally, it’s important to know that Washington law permits voters to drop off ballots for others. This has been affirmed recently by King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg who noted that any signs intended to make voters feel like they are being watched and monitored and violating the law by depositing ballots is voter intimidation, which is against the law.
Want more information about voting security or transparency in King County? King County Elections has produced a list of frequently asked questions online about security and voters can even watch live any time when ballots are being processed. Learn more:
Good conversation and great company
 Last night I co-hosted a community meeting with Centro Cultural Mexicano
Last night, I co-hosted a community meeting with Centro Cultural Mexicano to discuss the needs and priorities of the Eastside Latino community. As your Councilmember, I am proud to represent people of all backgrounds and experiences and strive to understand and advocate for all of my constituents. About 30 people joined the conversation and I heard about the difficulty of finding affordable childcare, concerns about the high cost of housing, the needs of small businesses, and the unique support services that would benefit women and stay-at-home moms.
I was delighted to connect with members of the Latino community and look forward to continuing the conversation about how I can support them. Community-based organizations, like Centro Cultural Mexicano, are crucial partners and I am so grateful to their team, especially co-founders Angie Hinojos and Carlos Jiménez, for working with me and co-hosting this event.
I would love to set up similar conversations with other communities in King County Council District 6. If you or an organization you work with would like to organize a community meeting, please don’t hesitate to reach out!
Spread the word!
Please forward this email widely and invite others to sign-up to my email updates to receive important and timely information for District 6 constituents.
Sincerely,
 Claudia Balducci
King County Council
District 6
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