February ballot will come with postage-paid return envelope

Envelopes for the February 14 school bond election
will have postage paid on them.
Photo by Chris Roberts

King County Elections is testing pre-paid postage for the February special elections in Maple Valley and the Shoreline School District.

Voters will receive a ballot packet that includes a return envelope with the postage already paid.

Elections is paying for the postage, which will cost about $12,300.

It is an experiment to see if more voters return their ballots than in previous elections.

Pre-paid postage is another way to improve voter access and remove barriers to voting.

Voters can still use the drop boxes, which will be located at Lake Forest Park City Hall and the Shoreline Library.

King County Elections is only charged for ballots returned through the U.S. Postal Service. Ballots returned to a drop box do not require a stamp so there is no charge.

Normally during an election (such as the 2015 General Election) if a voter mails a ballot to Elections without a stamp, the U.S. Postal Service will still deliver the ballot but will bill the county for the cost of the stamp. 

Ballots must still be in the drop boxes or have a postmark of February 14 in order to be counted.