Decision, decisions: Get ballots in Tuesday

EVERETT — Tuesday is Election Day with voters set to decide the fate of a sales tax hike in Monroe and how to narrow the field in contests for seats in the state Legislature and Congress.

Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked no later than Tuesday. Completed ballots also can be turned in at the Snohomish County Auditor’s Office or placed postage-free in a designated drop box up until 8 p.m.

In Monroe, residents are pondering a hike in the sales tax to generate more money for maintaining city streets. Proposition 1, if approved, would raise the current 8.7 percent sales tax rate to 8.9 percent for 10 years. It would bring in about $826,000 a year for maintaining Monroe’s streets.

Among a slew of battles for legislative seats, the most contested is in the 21st Legislative District in south Snohomish County.

Four Democrats and one Republican are vying to succeed retiring Rep. Mary Helen Roberts, D-Lynnwood. The two with the most votes, regardless of party, will advance to the general election in November.

Democratic U.S. Reps. Suzan DelBene in the 1st Congressional District, Rick Larsen in the 2nd District and Jim McDermott in the 7th District each face multiple challengers.

In the 1st Congressional District, Republican Pedro Celis, who is the favorite of the party establishment, is looking to show he can present a formidable challenge to DelBene this fall.

Also Tuesday, appointed Snohomish County Executive John Lovick, a Democrat, is up against Sultan Mayor Carolyn Eslick, a Republican, and James Deal, a Democrat.

And there are competitive races for judicial seats and a commissioner seat for the Snohomish County Public Utility District.

Turnout for this mid-term election has lagged behind previous mid-terms.

As of Monday morning, 65,624 ballots had been returned or 15.7 percent of those mailed out. That total includes ballots received in Monday’s mail but not ones placed in drop boxes during the weekend.

Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com and on Twitter at @dospueblos

Ballot drop boxes

Voters can avoid paying postage by putting their marked ballot in any of the drop boxes in Snohomish County. They must be dropped off before 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Ballots also can be turned in at the county auditor’s office, on the first floor of the Snohomish County Administration Building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett. The office will be accepting ballots from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Drop boxes are at:

Arlington (near library), 135 N. Washington Ave.

Edmonds (near library), 650 Main St.

Everett (Courthouse Campus), Rockefeller Avenue and Wall Street.

Everett (at McCollum Park), 600 128th St. SE.

Lake Stevens (near the city boat launch), 1800 Main St.

Lynnwood (in front of City Hall), 19100 44th Ave.

Marysville (behind Municipal Court), 1015 State Ave.

Monroe (near library), 1070 Village Way.

Mukilteo (near library), 4675 Harbour Pointe Blvd.

Snohomish (near library), 311 Maple Ave.

Stanwood (near library), 9701 271st St. NW.