What you need to know to vote in the August primary. Tri-Cities ballots go out soon

Elections officials in the Tri-Cities will mail out 170,000 ballots next week for the Aug. 6 primary election.

Franklin County will send more than 43,000 ballots Tuesday, July 16. The next day, more than 126,000 ballots will go out to voters across Benton County.

Voters should begin seeing those ballots in their mailboxes just days later. Ballots for military service members and voters overseas went out last month.

The August primary election will feature candidates running in partisan races, mostly for state and federal offices. It does not feature races for the president or vice president.

The two candidates who receive the most votes during the primary will move on to the presidential general election on Nov. 5.

How can I register to vote?

Voters have until Monday, July 29, to update their registration or register for the very first time through the vote.wa.gov online portal. After that, the paperwork will have to be filed at your local county auditor’s office .

Last-minute voters have until 8 p.m. on Election Day to conduct in-person registration and voting. That must be done at your local auditor’s office.

Some voters who turn 18 between the August primary and November general election can register early to vote in the primary election.

More than 4.8 million voters across Washington state will weigh in on 654 primary races, according to the Washington Secretary of State’s office .

Who is running?

Candidates running for state and federal office will appear on the Aug. 6 ballot. That includes those running for Congress and the Legislature.

One U.S. Senate seat, ten U.S. House seats and 123 seats in the state Legislature are up for reelection.

Nine state executive seats are also up, including governor, public school superintendent, commissioner of public lands, lieutenant governor and secretary of state.

▪ Franklin County voters will choose among 127 candidates on the ballot, including selecting their choice in two county commissioner races.

Voters will also choose whether to pass a single-year levy lid lift in Franklin County Fire District 3 , which serves much of the rural land just north and east of Pasco city limits.

▪ Benton County voters will choose among 144 candidates.

They’ll vote in two county commissioner races as well. Voters there will also weigh in on a replacement levy in Benton County Fire District 2 , which serves areas around Benton City, as well as a West Richland advisory vote about whether or not the city should lift its ban on cannabis retail sales.

In all, more than 94 local ballot measures — pushed out by cities, school districts, hospital districts and fire districts — will appear on ballots across Washington state.

Voters pamphlets will be mailed out by local elections offices in the coming days. They can currently be found online at sos.wa.gov .

When are ballots due? Where do I turn in my ballot?

Ballots must be slipped into a county-certified drop box by 8 p.m. on Election Day, Aug. 6.

Or voters can return ballots by mail — just make sure it’s postmarked by Election Day to count. That means send them a few days early since Tri-Cities mail goes through Spokane to be postmarked.

No postage is necessary.

Benton County has 11 boxes in Prosser, Benton City, Kennewick, Richland and West Richland where you can submit your ballot.

Franklin County has seven boxes across Pasco, Kahlotus, Mesa and Connell for voters to use.

You can verify if your ballot has been counted online by visiting vote.wa.gov .