Voting under way for election

Bad addresses leave voters without ballots

GRANT COUNTY — Didn't get your ballot? Chances are you haven't updated your address with the county.

Ballots were sent out last month to approximately 32,000 voters in Grant County, but more than 2,500 voters have not received those ballots because of information not updated with the Grant County Elections Office. Those ballots have since been returned to the county courthouse.

"A lot of people have moved out of the county, and a lot of people have moved within the county and haven't let us know," said Faith Anderson with the elections office about why some of the ballots have been returned.

Voters should have received their ballots through the mail, and Anderson said voters who haven't should contact the elections office.

"If they're missing a ballot they need to give us a call right away," Anderson said.

Election officials have in the past had by mail ballots returned, but Grant County Auditor Bill Varney said more were returned this time because every voter was sent their ballot by mail. The county made the switch to all mail elections this summer following suit with approximately 60 percent of Grant County voters who had already been signed up as permanent absentee voters.

The deadline for voter registration has also passed, but Varney said voters can still request absentee ballots from other counties if they have moved from within the state. Varney also encouraged voters to update their voter information and let the elections office know if they have moved from one part of the county to another.

"The best thing for them to do is send a letter saying they've moved," Varney said.

Voters whose ballots are not picked up by election day will be placed in inactive status by the county, Varney said. Voters in inactive status will then be dropped from the voting rolls after two federal elections.

Ballots can be mailed to or dropped off at the elections office at the Grant County Courthouse until Election Day. Mailed in ballots must be postmarked no later than Nov. 8 to be counted. Voters can also drop off their ballots various locations throughout the county on Nov. 8.

For more information, contact the elections office at (509) 754-2011.