Everett voters have until 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, to return ballots in a general election that includes five city charter amendments, five Snohomish County charter propositions, three statewide initiatives and contested races for state Legislature.

Snohomish County Auditor Garth Fell urged voters to use one of the county's 38 official ballot drop boxes rather than mailing ballots during the final week. In an Oct. 27 statement, Fell said recent changes to U.S. Postal Service processing procedures may affect how quickly mailed ballots are postmarked and delivered, according to a Snohomish County elections notice.

Ballots mailed back must carry a postmark of Nov. 3 or earlier.

Everett drop box locations

Everett-area drop boxes include the Snohomish County Elections Office at 3000 Rockefeller Ave., the Everett Courthouse Campus at Rockefeller Avenue and Wall Street, Everett Community College at 1001 North Broadway, Everett Mall at 1402 SE Everett Mall Way, and the Evergreen Branch Library at 9512 Evergreen Way, according to Everett Community. The Evergreen Library location is new this year, according to the county.

A full list is available at snoco.gov/elections.

What Everett voters will decide

City charter amendments: The Everett ballot carries four propositions. Proposition 262 would set a minimum of two council meetings per month and at least 36 meetings per year, down from the 48 meetings per year the charter requires, according to the official sample ballot. Proposition 264 would require initiative and referendum petitions to be signed by voters equal to 10% of votes cast in the last mayoral election, allow 10 days to correct faulty signatures and require the city to prepare a fiscal analysis of each measure.

Proposition 265 would let the city publish legal notices in a newspaper while also making them available through the city clerk's office, modernizing eight charter sections. A fifth Everett proposition, No. 263, also appears on the ballot.

As Washington State Standard reported, one Everett charter change would bar mayors and council members from holding any other elected office at the same time. A mayor or council member who wins another office would vacate their city seat upon being sworn in. State Rep. Mary Fosse served on the Everett City Council when she won her state House seat in 2022, the Standard reported.

County charter propositions: All Snohomish County voters will see five proposed amendments from the county Charter Review Commission. Proposition 3 would make all elected county offices nonpartisan, removing party labels from the ballot. Several county offices, including treasurer, auditor, assessor, sheriff and clerk, are already nonpartisan, the Standard reported.

Proposition 5 would require a four-out-of-five supermajority on the County Council to assess, levy or increase any county tax. It would not apply to existing taxes up for renewal that are not increasing. Fees, rates, charges and special assessments would be exempt.

The other three county propositions would prioritize funding for core government offices (Proposition 1), require prioritized funding of budget stabilization reserves (Proposition 2) and expand public access to county financial information (Proposition 4).

Statewide initiatives: Three measures appear on every Washington ballot. Initiative IP26-645 would repeal a 9.9% tax on annual individual income over $1 million and prohibit future income taxes. The sample ballot states the measure would decrease funding for public K-12 education, higher education and human services. Initiative IL26-001 concerns parental rights in public schools. Initiative IL26-638 would prohibit students defined as "biologically male" from competing in certain female-only school athletics.

Legislative races

Everett spans parts of three legislative districts. In the 38th District, the state Senate race features June Robinson and Brad Bender. Julio Cortes faces Thomas (Jeff) Kelly for state representative Position 1. Mary Fosse is the sole candidate for Position 2.

In the 21st District, Marko Liias and Riaz Khan are running for state Senate. The Position 1 state representative race has four candidates: Davina Duerr, Strom Peterson, Maggie Wang and Jason Moon. Position 2 features Shelley Kloba, Lillian Ortiz-Self, Cliff Moon and Bruce Guthrie.

In the 44th District, John Lovick faces Sherri Larkin for state Senate. Brandy Donaghy and Chris Elder are running for state representative Position 1. April Berg faces Tonya Stadlman for Position 2.

Other local races

Jason Cummings is the sole candidate for Snohomish County prosecuting attorney. Anthony E. Howard and Jennifer Millett are each running unopposed for Everett District Court judge Positions 1 and 2. Sid Logan and Janet St Clair are competing for Snohomish County Public Utility District No. 1 commissioner, District 1, a six-year term.

How to track results

Voters can track their ballot status and sign up for text alerts at VoteWA.gov. An initial round of results is expected after 8 p.m. on election night, Fox 13 Seattle reported. In-person voter registration remains available at the Auditor's Office in Everett through 8 p.m. on Nov. 3.