The big day has arrived

By Richard Walker • November 8, 2016 1:30 am
Tags:
From left, Julia Stark, Josie Baxter and Hazel Simpson check a voter’s registration so the correct ballot can be given to her, Nov. 8 at the Poulsbo Fire Department polling station. In addition to ballot drop boxes throughout the county, the county staffs a polling place in Poulsbo and in Port Orchard. (Richard Walker/Kitsap News Group)
From left, Julia Stark, Josie Baxter and Hazel Simpson check a voter’s registration so the correct ballot can be given to her, Nov. 8 at the Poulsbo Fire Department polling station. In addition to ballot drop boxes throughout the county, the county staffs a polling place in Poulsbo and in Port Orchard. (Richard Walker/Kitsap News Group)

POULSBO — Today is Election Day.

Ballots must be postmarked today or deposited into a ballot dropbox by 8 p.m. Click here for ballot dropbox locations.

Americans will elect a new president, the 45th — the first woman, and first spouse of a former president, to occupy the Oval Office; or the first political outsider to advance directly from the business world to the presidency.

(If you still haven’t decided who to vote for and want to check the veracity of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump’s claims – about the issues and about each other — visit FactCheck.org, a project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center, and PolitiFact.com, a Pulitzer Prize-winning project of the Tampa Bay Times. Both have full-time staffs devoted to researching and checking the candidates’ claims.)

Kitsap County voters will decide whether to approve a sales tax to support Kitsap Transit’s proposed passenger ferry service between Seattle and Bremerton, Kingston and Southworth. Supporters say the service would open new opportunities for employment, tourism and other benefits to residents of both sides of the water; opponents say Seattleites would benefit more from the service, with Kitsap residents bearing most of the cost.

Poulsbo residents will decide whether to enlarge the Poulsbo Port District’s boundaries; supporters say a larger district means more property tax revenue for breakwater replacement and marina improvements, as well as a voice in district affairs for residents who currently live in Poulsbo but outside the port district.

Kitsap County residents will also vote for governor and other constitutional offices, as well as state senators and representatives, county commissioner, public utility district commissioner, and member of Congress.

The Kitsap County Elections Department reported Nov. 7 it had received 94,552 ballots of 166,501 mailed out – that’s a 56.79 percent voter turnout rate. The elections department has a busy night ahead; the voter turnout is expected to exceed 80 percent.

You can track your ballot using the Kitsap County Auditor Elections Office online Ballot Tracker.

KitsapDailyNews.com – the regional news site powered by six newspapers in Sound Publishing’s Kitsap News Group – will provide comprehensive election night coverage of local candidates and ballot measures. KitsapDailyNews.com will provide results in comprehensive stories that explain what the results mean to you and Kitsap.

— Richard Walker is managing editor of Kitsap News Group. You can contact him at rwalker@soundpublishing.com.

Tags: