Six days to vote: why the District 5 winner probably won't vote on Seattle's budget, and why officials say skip the mail

Ballots for the Nov. 3 election are due in six days, and Washington's top election officials say the safest way to return yours now is a drop box. Secretary of State Steve Hobbs warned that U.S. Postal Service changes can delay postmarks by two to five days, Cascade PBS reported. "Do not mail it," he said of ballots this close to Election Day. Attorney General Nick Brown called drop boxes "the safest, most efficient and quickest way" to make sure a ballot counts.

In Washington, a mailed ballot counts only if it is postmarked by Election Day. A ballot that sits a few days before getting its postmark could miss that deadline.

For North Seattle voters, there is also a question about timing on the other end: when the person they elect actually takes the seat.

What Seattle voters decide

• District 5 special election: Nilu Jenks and Julie Kang are running to fill the rest of the term in the North Seattle seat now held by appointee Debora Juarez. See our District 5 guide.
• Prop. 1, the Seattle Transit Measure: a sales tax for bus service. See what it would do and how the Council's budget already counts on it.
• If you have questions about ballot security after ballots were found dumped at Golden Gardens, see what Seattle voters should do.

What our records add: who casts the budget vote

When the Council appointed Juarez in July 2025, it said she would serve until November 2026, according to the Council's announcement. Last year's precedent shows the new member taking office after the county certifies results. State law requires counties to certify a general election no later than 21 days after Election Day (RCW 29A.60.190), which this year is Nov. 24.

Last year offers a close precedent. District 2 also had an appointee, Mark Solomon, and a special election in November:

• The Select Budget Committee voted on the 2026 budget, CB 121116, on Nov. 20, 2025, and the full Council adopted it 9-0 on Nov. 21. Solomon voted yes both times.
• King County certified the election on Nov. 25, and Eddie Lin was sworn in on Dec. 3, Hoodline reported.

This year's Council calendar lists budget sessions through Nov. 20, according to the budget kickoff release. If the final vote again lands before certification, Juarez would cast District 5's vote on the 2027-2028 budget, and the new member would arrive just after.

Juarez's own budget proposals so far are modest. By our count of the posted packets, she is the prime sponsor of three items, including $250,000 a year and one planning position for North Aurora, and she co-sponsors several others. See Tuesday's list.

Practical checklist

• Use an official King County drop box, as Hobbs and Brown advised.
• If you must mail, Hobbs suggested asking a postal clerk to postmark your ballot at the counter, per Cascade PBS.

What's next

• Nov. 3, 8 p.m.: ballot deadline.
• Nov. 4: the budget chair's balancing package, the day after the election.
• Nov. 24: latest date for King County to certify results under state law.