Return your ballot on time by using a ballot drop box

OLYMPIA — Election Day is less than a week away on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The Office of the Secretary of State encourages voters to vote, sign, and return their ballots — and voters are strongly encouraged to use an official ballot drop box.

The deadline to return ballots is 8 p.m. on Nov. 3. Mailed ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day to be considered on time. Ballots mailed less than a week before Election Day may not be postmarked on time.

Close to Election Day, using a ballot drop box is the best way for voters to ensure their ballot is received on time. Drop boxes are secure and open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until 8 p.m. on Election Day. Ballots in a drop box by 8 p.m. on Election Day are guaranteed on time. A full list of open ballot drop boxes and voting centers is available on the Drop Box and Voting Center Locations page. 

Voters can find up-to-date election information online through the Elections website and through official social media accounts. Election information is available on both the @SecStateWA and @WAStateElections accounts on Instagram, the Washington State Elections page on Facebook, and @SecStateWA account on X.

Washington’s Office of the Secretary of State oversees areas within state government including managing state elections, registering corporations and charities, and governing the use of the state flag and state seal. The office operates the State Archives and the State Library, documents extraordinary stories in Washington’s history through Legacy Washington, and administers the Combined Fund Drive for charitable giving by state employees and the Productivity Board state employee suggestion program. The Secretary of State oversees the state’s Address Confidentiality Program to help protect survivors of crime and the Civic Engagement Program to increase governmental trust and participation for all Washingtonians.