u/MMessinger

This from the Thurston County Auditor's Office

>We Are Still Getting Ballots that Should Have Counted in the Primary

>While we are seeing some concerning trends with ballots returned by mail, I want to start by recognizing the great job Thurston County voters are doing by using official ballot drop boxes.

>During the recent primary election, Thurston County voters did a great job. About 76% of voters used official ballot drop boxes, which is up from 66% in 2022. Because so many people used drop boxes, almost all ballots arrived on time to be counted.

>However, we are seeing serious problems with mail delivery through the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). Voters are following all the rules, but mail delays are causing many ballots to arrive way too late.

>The Problem with Mail Delivery

>By law, we must certify the election by a specific deadline. For the primary, that date was August 18, 2026, two weeks after Election Day. Any ballot that arrives after this date cannot be counted, even if it was mailed on time.

>We are seeing two main problems with the post office:

>Slow Mail: Many people mailed their ballots well before Election Day, but the ballots sat in post office sorting centers for weeks. In one case, a ballot was mailed in late July but didn't reach our office until after the August 18 deadline. It took 19 days to arrive, so it could not be counted.

>Ballots sent Between Counties: In Washington State, you can drop your ballot into any official drop box in the state. Other counties collect those ballots and mail them back to us using USPS Priority Mail. In the past, this worked well. But this year, mail sent on August 5 didn't reach us until August 24, six days after the deadline.

>So far, our office has received 70 valid ballots that arrived after the certification deadline. This has never happened before, and it means those votes could not be counted. One ballot took 19 days to reach us.

>What We Are Doing for November

>No voter should lose their vote when they’ve followed every rule.

>To fix this for the November election, we will no longer rely on the post office to send ballots between counties. Instead, our team will personally drive to neighboring counties to pick up and hand-deliver these ballots ourselves. Even though this costs extra money and time, it is necessary to make sure every vote counts.

>How You Can Help & Helpful Resources

>The safest way to make sure your vote is counted is to use an official ballot drop box instead of putting your ballot in the mail.

>Visit VoteWA.gov to check your voter registration, track your ballot, or find a drop box near you.

>For local election information, visit the Thurston County Auditor’s Office website to see the official 2026 election schedule and updates.

If you are eligible to vote this November, but have not yet registered to vote, you may do so online at the Washington Secretary of State's website.

Help spread the word.

Fellow Toyota Prius owners: I'm seeking recommendations for independent repair shops that give good service to the Prius. Sure, there's always Toyota of Olympia, if I want the dealer service center. But who else have you found, especially in Olympia or West Olympia, that you trust your Prius with?

My 2017 Volt has been in the service center since the end of December, waiting on an under-warranty battery replacement that may never happen. Is Chevrolet manufacturing new or refurbishing old batteries? I don't know. But there are plenty of stories of people, like me, left hanging for months and even years, then offered a buy-back. I don't want a buy-back; I want a car that runs, preferably my Volt. The car is worth more to me than the cash it appears Chevrolet is likely to offer for a 10-year old car with 90,000 miles on it.

What about the other option: Instead of accepting a buy-back, take the car back and cough up the $3000 to $6000 to install a battery refurbished by a third party?

I've read about people's buy-backs, but I haven't read about anyone who went the route of having a remanufactured, third-party battery put into their second generation Volt. What are the pros and cons of this? Yes, I realize I'm talking about a battery with no warranty from Chevy. But some of the buy-back amounts I've read, for a 2017 LT with my kind of mileage. . . well, that's a pretty limited warranty from Chevrolet.