Voting 101
Washington State Primary Election
Tuesday, August 6, 2024
How to Register
Who is eligible?
If you are at least 18 years old or turn 18 by August 6, 2024, you are eligible to register to vote in the State of Washington if you meet other voter eligibility requirements including being a US citizen and a resident of the State of Washington. Citizens as young as 16 may register but they cannot vote until they are 18.
Where do I register?
Registration is easy, especially online. Visit either the Walla Walla County Auditor’s Elections page or the State of Washington Secretary of State’s Elections page to register.
What do I need to register?
You will need your residence address and a Washington State driver’s license or identity card. Registering for the General Election online or by mail must be completed by July 29.
If you don’t have a Washington driver’s license or identity card, or it’s after July 29, you can still register in person at the Walla Walla County Auditor’s office in Room 203 of the Walla Walla County Courthouse, 315 West Main Street, Walla Walla on or before August 6.
How to Vote
Voting begins with ballots mailed to voters’ homes on July 19, 2024. To vote in the Primary, voters must declare which party for which they wish to vote. The Walla Walla County Elections office informed us that only candidates for the Democratic Party or Republican Party nomination will be on the Washington ballot.
Independents or “no party affiliation” voters will not be able to vote in this primary unless they choose a party slate.
Voters must select or “declare” their party preference on the Declarations Envelope – which is the ballot’s mailing envelope that voters must sign – by checking a box. Votes will not be counted if a voter declares a preference for one party and then votes for a candidate of the other party. This Party declaration only happens every four years in Washington for the Presidential Primary. Voters can and do change party declarations from election to election.
To vote, fill out the ballot, place it in the privacy envelope, place the privacy in the return Declarations Envelope, note your party preference on it, and sign the envelope before mailing. Your signature will be compared with that on file with the Walla Walla County Auditor. If your signatures don’t match, the Elections Office will be in touch with you to “cure” your ballot.
To be sure your ballot will be counted, mail it before August 6 (no postage required) or drop it in a Ballot Drop Box.
If you delay voting until Election Day, make sure you drop off your ballot at a Drop Box on August 6 before 8:00 pm or mail your ballot before the last mailing of the day: 3:30 pm at the Walla Walla Post Office and 1:30 pm at the College Place Post Office.