Informed Civic Engagement Resource Guide: Completing Your Ballot

So, you’ve registered to vote and received your ballot, and now you aren’t sure what to do to fill it out? We’ve got you! Here are some tips for how to understand your ballot, and questions to ask yourself as you start filling it in.

Here are the categories you will find on your ballot:

Federal representation (president, senator, representative)
State representation (governor, lieutenant gov., attorney general, judges, etc.)
Local representation (school districts, commissioners, etc.)
Ballot measures (proposed changes to Washington laws)

To see your sample ballot, visit Ballotpedia and enter your address.

The first question to ask when considering who to vote for is: What are my values? What are the most important issues to you in the election, and which candidates will be best suited to represent those issues? You may already know who you plan to vote for in all the races on your ballot, but if you don’t, there are a few ways that you can learn about the candidates and where they stand on the issues that are important to you:

Voter pamphlet - This should get mailed to the address you have on file a few weeks before the election. It contains information about all the candidates running in your county. You will have to flip through to find the races specifically on your ballot, but there should be information about each candidate in the pamphlet.
Candidates’ websites - Some candidates may have websites or social media pages where they explain who they are and their stances on the issues you care about.
Endorsements - If you align with a political party, that party may have endorsed a candidate in the race. If you don’t align with a party, there might be other organizations you trust who have endorsed candidates. Below, we have provided links to a few example organizations you might want to consider.
- Political parties
- Issue-based organizations
  - Washington Education Association (education)
  - Washington State Labor Council (labor issues)
  - National Federation of Independent Businesses (small businesses)
  - League of Conservation Voters (environmental issues)

These are only a few examples - if there are organizations or issues that you care about, look at their website to see if they have a page for political endorsements!

When you have decided on who and what you want to vote for, be sure to fill out the ballot according to the instructions. Then seal and sign the envelope.

Ballots can be placed in the regular mail (no postage needed), or in drop boxes for your county. Below, here is information about how to find the closest ballot drop box to you.

Once you have turned in your ballot, you can track its status using the following ballot trackers. You will have to enter some personal information to ensure the status of your ballot, but that information will not be connected to your votes.