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Sunday, Nov. 01, 2009

Quick election quiz: Where's your ballot?

The mail-in ballot takes some of the fun out of election day.

Going to your polling place, chatting with poll workers and neighbors, and, best of all, getting the "I voted" sticker to proudly wear for the rest of the day -- the mail-in ballot just doesn't give you any of that.

The tradeoff, we've been told, is that more people actually participate in mail-in elections, and those who are homebound have an easier time with the whole process.

We grudgingly support the new way of voting -- but still miss getting our sticker.

The biggest drawback to the vote-by-mail system is that would-be voters sometimes leave their ballot in their in-basket too long.

We typically encourage voters not to vote too soon -- in case some last-minute development changes the equation -- but we most definitely advise against voting too late.

So if you're one of the many still holding onto your ballot, get that thing in the mail or drive it to the drop-off box at your county auditor's office.

Election day is Tuesday and you have to drop your ballot off by 8 p.m. or have it postmarked that day.

And no, the post office will NOT be open until 11:59 p.m. for procrastinators.

Benton County voters can drop their ballots off at:

-- Benton County Auditor's office, Courthouse, 620 Market St., Prosser

-- Benton County Auditor's office, 5600 W. Canal Place, Kennewick

-- Benton County Auditor's office, 101 Wellsian Way, Suite E, Richland

Franklin County locations are:

-- TRAC, 6600 Burden Blvd., Pasco

-- Election Center, 116 N. Third Ave., Pasco

-- Franklin County Courthouse, 1016 N. Fourth Ave., Pasco

Still unsure how to vote? Once again, here are our recommendations. And, once again, they're only recommendations. You get the final say.

Statewide measures

Referendum 71 -- No consensus

Initiative 1033 -- Reject

Local measures

Franklin Public Safety tax -- Approve

State Legislature

16th District -- Laura Grant

9th District -- Pat Hailey

Kennewick

Port of Kennewick -- Skip Novakovich

City council Pos. 1 -- Don Britain

City council Pos. 2 -- James Hempstead

City council Pos. 3 -- Tom Moak

City council Pos. 4 -- Bob Parks

City council Pos. 7 -- Chris Smart

School district Pos. 1 -- Heather Kintzley

School district Pos. 2 -- Dawn Adams

Richland

City council Pos. 3 -- Sandra Kent

City council Pos. 5 -- Phillip Lemley

Pasco

City council Pos. 2 -- Mike Garrison

City council Pos. 7 -- Todd Samuel

West Richland

Mayor -- Dale Jackson

City council Pos. 1 -- Angie Tyree

City council Pos. 3 -- Gail Brown

City council Pos. 4 -- Mark Hanneman

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