On Wednesday July 3, San Juan County Elections Supervisor Doris Schaller and her staff loaded trays of 11,005 envelopes containing ballots for the Aug. 19 primary election to be metered and sent out by the United States Postal Service.

According to Schaller, letters have also been sent to the last known addresses of 1,229 voters termed “inactive” because the last ballot or voter registration card sent to them was returned as undeliverable. Envelopes containing ballots or registration cards cannot be forwarded, but the Postal Service will forward the notification letters if a new address is on file.

This will be the first year of the new “Top Two” style primary election, in which the top two finishers in contested elections, regardless of party affiliation, will advance to the general election. “There has been a lot of interest in the Top Two primary this year, and there are instructions in the envelope and on the ballot this year,” said Schaller.

More information about how the Top Two primary system will work is available on the Secretary of State’s Website at: www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/Top2Primary.aspx. Full information about this year’s election, the voters guide and voter registration is available through the San Juan County website at www.sanjuanco.com/elections/default.aspx.