Voters have until 8 p.m. today to get their ballots in an official drop box or to their county’s auditor’s office and have them counted in this year’s general election. 

Numerous seats for city councils, port districts, school districts and other special districts are on the ballots in Benton and Franklin counties. Franklin Fire District 1 also has a ballot measure to raise its levy lid to 85 cents per $1,000 assessed property value for collection in 2026 and to determine the levy limit in subsequent years. 

Information on ballot drop box locations is available online for Benton and Franklin counties. Ben Franklin Transit will provide free transportation to all riders heading to cast their ballots or to register to vote in-person. Find information on which BFT routes will take you to official ballot drop boxes: bft.org/ride-free-on-bft.

You can also verify the status of your ballot via the Washington Secretary of State’s online voter’s portal. 

As of Oct. 29, voter turnout in Benton County was just under 12%. As of Oct. 31, voter turnout in Franklin County was just over 11%.