Washington primary election is today; have you voted?

After months of campaigning, hopefuls for public office in Clark County and Washington will face their first big test tonight.

Today is the deadline for voters to turn in their ballots for the Aug. 7 primary. The election will determine which candidates will advance to the November general election in races for Congress, Clark County Council, Vancouver City Council and others.

According to Clark County Elections, a total of 61,439 ballots have been received as of Aug. 6, or 22 percent of the county’s 279,284 eligible voters.

This year, ballots include prepaid postage, so voters can mail their ballots in for free, and the freebie on postage seems to be bolstering turnout. The percentage of voters who have turned in their ballots is higher than it was same time last year. On July 31 of last year, (the day before the 2017 primary), 34,621 ballots had been turned in, or 14 percent of the county’s then-238,855 eligible voters.

Ballots will be counted if they are postmarked by Aug. 7. Voters can also turn in their ballots at the Clark County Elections Office at 1408 Franklin St. in Vancouver. They can also drop their ballots off by 8 p.m. on election night at seven locations.

Election results will be posted at 8:15 p.m. For results, check back at www.columbian.com/news/politics/election/ and search for the Twitter hashtags #ClarkElex and #WaElex.