The county auditor and the U.S. Postal Service both recommend we not mail our ballots this close to Election Day, this coming Tuesday, August 4. In fact, they recommended not mailing after last Tuesday, July 28. So, mailing now has a high chance of being futile. Do not mail your ballot. Too late already.
The auditor has drop boxes in very convenient locations all over the county. In Bellingham proper, there are only three - the courthouse, Sehome Village Mall, and on Western’s campus. Still - find the most convenient one and drop off your ballot.
Drop your ballot before 8 p.m. Tuesday.
John Lewis - our late great civil rights icon - urged us to vote. He marched to enable Blacks to exercise their constitutional right to vote - which was denied them by the southern states - as they are doing again. Voting is our most valuable and powerful right.
A public note to our auditor: The city of Bellingham desperately needs four more ballot drop boxes. I privately urged our previous auditor for years to add more in the city and she would not. I never got a straight answer as to why not. The number of ballots dropped at the city boxes shows that the only two we residents have access to is completely inadequate. Half the population of the county is served by two drop boxes. What is one to do when pulling up to the Sehome Village drop box only to see it stuffed and impossible to put any more in?
Four new drop boxes: one at I-5 and Fairhaven Parkway; one on Lakeway, perhaps at Yew Street; one on Northwest Ave, perhaps at Birchwood Ave; and one near Sunset Drive or Barkley Village. Those would work, although maybe those locations can be improved on. They are needed. And there is time before the general election.
Comments by Readers
Bernie Housen
Aug 02, 2020How about a test? The ballots need only an Election Day postmark to count. So, if anyone is game, write a couple of letters, to yourself, or someone with an address near the county courthouse. Drop off you ballot tomorrow, at the same time post the letters, maybe one in a community mailbox, another from your home. When the letters arrive, check the postmark date.
John Servais
Aug 02, 2020Bernie. Good suggestion. Game on. I mailed two letters this noon - noting times and exact mailboxes.
Mike Rostron
Aug 02, 2020My understanding (my wife used to work for the post office, and is still a member of the union) is that mail from Bellingham goes to Seattle to be sorted, no matter where it is bound. Part of the slow but steady hamstringing of the USPS has been the closing of some regional sorting facilities, which in many cases slows local mail deliveries.
John Servais
Aug 02, 2020Seattle, now, eh. I remember 20 years ago or so when they closed our Bham sorting room and trucked all Bham mail destined for Bham down to Everett. Inane. We saw one day delivery drop to 3 days immediately. Where I posted this Sunday noon at the actual post office, the next “pickup” is tomorrow, Monday, at 5 pm. Hmm. Still could get a Tuesday postmark.
David MacLeod
Aug 02, 2020There’s also the drop box at the Community College campus.