State of WASHINGTON: What to do if your POLLING PLACE IS CLOSED

[Bluebear]

First and foremost to our Evergreen State DUers, may you and yours stay safe during this "Pineapple Express" flooding. Here is the latest bulletin posted 06:49 PM PST on Monday, November 6, 2006...

Several Western Washington polling places will likely be affected by local flooding. Here's more information on polling places likely to be affected and what you can do to still make your vote count.
King County

Potential flooding of the Snoqualmie and Tolt rivers could impact voters heading to the polls on election day in the Carnation, Fall City and Snoqualmie areas.

Snoqualmie Elementary School, 39801 SE Park St., has been closed and voters will be routed to Snoqualmie Fire Station at 37600 SE Snoqualmie Parkway in Snoqualmie.

Other affected polling places near the Snoqualmie and Tolt rivers:

* River View School Dist. Office, Carnation
* Fall City Elementary, Fall City
* Fall City Fire Station Dist. 27, Fall City

Polling places not in danger

* of flooding but may have road access issues:
* Stillwater Elementary, Carnation
* Vincent Community Club, Carnation

Voters who are affected by the flooding have many options for casting a ballot. These options include:
* Request an e-mail ballot. Voters can request a ballot online at this link Requests received by 7 p.m. today (11/06/06) will be e-mailed a ballot and affidavit to return. All ballots must be postmarked by Election Day. E-mailed ballots will be set aside to ensure the voters' registration status.
* Request a one-time absentee ballot in person. King County Elections will be open until 7 p.m. tonight (11/06/06) to accommodate voters living in the affected flooding areas. Enter the King County Administration Building through the Third Avenue entrance of the King County Courthouse after 6 p.m. Today is the last day for poll voters to request an absentee ballot.
* Cast a provisional ballot at any polling place between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Election Day. Nearby polling locations are listed below. Voters can also call the Voter Hotline at 206-296-VOTE (8683) until 7 p.m. today or between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Options for provisional voters.

If a polling place is not accessible due to flooding, voters can cast a provisional ballot at any polling place. Voters are encouraged to use the online tool, Your Voter Guide, to create a sample ballot with the candidates and measures on their ballot. Voters should download, print and bring the sample ballot to their polling place and write-in the race and candidate choices.

Nearby, alternative voting locations for flooding in the Snoqualmie Valley:

North:

* Duvall Church, 15520 Main St., Duvall, WA 98019
* Stillwater Elementary (May not be accessible from Carnation- Duvall Road), 11530 320th NE, Carnation, WA 98014

South:

* Preston Community Club, 8625 310th Ave SE, Preston, WA 98050
* Mount Si Senior Center, 411 Main Ave South, North Bend, WA 98045
* Sallal Grange Hall, 12912 432nd Ave SE, North Bend, WA 98045

West:

* Redmond Fire Station #14, 5021 264th Ave NE, Redmond, WA 98053
* Timberlake Christian Fellowship, 4505 236th Ave NE, Sammamish, WA 98074
* Beaver Lake Middle School, 25025 SE 32nd St., Issaquah, WA 98029
* Challenger Elementary, 25200 SE Klahanie Blvd., Issaquah, WA 98029

For questions regarding the affect of this change, voters are encouraged to contact the King County Elections Voter Hotline at 206-296-VOTE (8683) until 7 p.m. today or between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on November 7, 2006.

Pierce County

Voters not able to vote at their assigned polling place still have several options to cast their ballot, including:

* Request an e-mail ballot. Voters can request a ballot by e-mail at [e-mail]. All ballots must be postmarked by Election Day.
* Request a one-time absentee ballot in person at the Pierce County Auditor's Office, 2401 So. 35th St., Room 200, Tacoma, WA. Pierce County Elections will be open at 7 a.m. on election day to accommodate voters affected by flooding.
* Cast a provisional ballot at any polling place between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Election Day. Contact the Pierce County Auditor's Office for the nearest polling location. Call 253-798-7430, 253-798-3189 or 1-800-446-4979.

For up-to-the-minute polling place closures and location changes, log onto www.piercecountywa.org/auditor. Or call 253-798- 7430, 253-798-3189 or 1-800-446-4979 between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Election Day. 1-800-833-6388 TDD/TTY

http://www.king5.com/sharedcontent/northwest/specialreport/stories/NW_110606WABpollingplacesDS.1098f4ff.html

[flamingyouth]

1. Thanks for posting.

[John Q. Citizen]

2. Can you also please post this to the WA state forum? Thanks

[Bluebear]

4. Done JQ

[bobbolink]

3. Best wishes to all of you, and thanks for posting the info.

Just wish some of that water could go to some of us in drought areas.

Take care, everyone! :hi:

[yewberry]

6. Thanks

and we wish that we could send some of this rain your way, too.

Yeesh, it's WET.

[Generic Other]

5. Thank you! I already mailed in my vote

Now will you come help me bail out my basement?

[rsmith6621]

7. A Republican Plot....Does Prayer Work

See....They got together with God and said Hey God Mike McGavick is going to lose and he loves You so much you've got to help him out....so God was able to send his fury out to lower income communitys because they vote Democratic and are to stupid to vote anyhow.......aint God Good..... :sarcasm: :rofl:


Seriously I hope the local media has been PROACTIVE in getting these options out to the public....we need as many people to vote and not be discougred to vote...If I wasnt going to be in Montana tommorow Id offer to drive those who feel they cant to the polls....my wife tonight said it is terrible and turning into a lake....

[American Jesus]

10. God had nothing to do with this.

We set the weather systems on auto-pilot a long time ago. Sorry about all the rain. I can promise you that you will NOT need to pair off the animals and build a really big boat!

[icymist]

8. Thank you for posting this information.

I believe that Western Washington is experiencing 'The Age of Aquarium'! We even have salmon swimming over the roadways!

[Bluebear]

9. Quick! A nice dill cream sauce! nt

[icymist]

11. Ummmmmm! Salmon with dill cream sauce!

eom

[windbreeze]

16. Yep, they got lost, so the news said....n/t

[icymist]

12. More detailed flooding updates for Washington State

Highway Weather Update

For general traveler information, visit the WSDOT statewide traveler information web site. Traffic and weather information is also available by dialing 5-1-1 from most phones

As of 7:59 p.m., November 6, 2006

The deluge of rain and high water produced by today's storm has caused closures on sections of nearly 20 state highways in Western Washington. WSDOT crews of more than 700 have been battling the water non-stop since early Monday morning.

WSDOT will provide frequent updates to this page as conditions change. Western Washington counties are listed in alphabetical order and eastern Washington counties will be added if storm conditions warrant:

View WSDOT updates here

Breaking News for Citizens in King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties
Be in touch. Stay in touch.
The Regional Public Information Network is your one-stop resource for news alerts from more than 60 government, transportation, utility, health and emergency response agencies serving citizens in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.

RPIN keeps the public informed about street and highway closures, weather, major transit disruptions, and provides updates on what agencies are doing to respond to emergencies and incidents. The public also can sign up to receive e-mail alerts and pager headlines from RPIN partners and get helpful tips to prepare for emergencies.

View RPIN updates here

[Rainscents]

13. I am already tired of this freaking rain.

It's been none stop and the raining season just start it too. It also has been very windy too.

[windbreeze]

18. Me too....

I was born and raised where there were 4 distinctly different seasons...and you were ready for each of them as they arrived....none of this sos no matter what time of year....
windbreeze

[Matariki]

32. no offence but what part of "rain forest" didn't you understand when coming here?

;-)

just kicking the post really...

[windbreeze]

39. it's like this...when I came here

my husband was in the military....so there was no choice...
...being from Pa....I had never studied Wash. state history, so I had no clue what this state was like.....but no offence is meant here either...
windbreeze

[Matariki]

29. yay rain!

we needed this rain - really we did.

[icymist]

30. Yes, we needed the rain, but spread out in the first six months of the year.

Not in two days! It's still raining!

[Matariki]

31. i'll see what i can do

;-)

[icymist]

14. Kick for the voters of the Great State of Washington.

eom

[Rainscents]

15. K & R!

For great info. :kick:

[upi402]

17. Bluebear you've done good here - recommended

:patriot:
Thanks!

[SeattleGirl]

19. This Washingtonian thanks you, Bluebear.

I have already voted absentee, but I know a lot of people in affected areas haven't, so I truly appreciate this information.

[windbreeze]

20. K & R.....

[marlakay]

21. Thank you

I live in the mountains in WA and the rivers are full and raging and my yard is starting to flood. My county is all vote by mail though so I voted a few weeks ago. Thanks for posting the info for others.

[icymist]

22. K&R again for Washington's voters!

:kick:

[LaBanty]

23. Thanks a million

I know a lot of Washington voters will appreciate the info. I have the 4WD truck ready to roll to the polls. We'll use a boat to get there, if we have to. Again, thanks for the resources.

[WebeBlue]

24. Voted and Part 2 of Rainstorm today - election day

Rural county so get to vote by mail - already done. And yep it's flooding here in WA - abrupt change in the weather from beautiful, sunny Autumn days last week to the rain and windstorm this week. Expected the change as it normally rains in November - but not to so abruptly and severely - rivers didn't stand a chance.

[freeplessinseattle]

25. oh well, maybe it will make people think of GOP disaster plans

and think twice about voting repug.

[rsmith6621]

26. I Just asked The Mods To Pin this to the top of the board...

eom

[Bluebear]

27. k

[icymist]

28. UPDATE FOR WASHINGTON STATE VOTERS

Campaigns keeping an eye on flooding problems


SEATTLE - Candidates in Washington's hottest political races engaged in a frenzy of last-minute door-belling, supermarket handshaking and rush hour sign-waving to motivate their supporters on Election Day, while also keeping an eye on flooding that had closed some polling places.

"We're very concerned about that right now," said Kimberly Cadena, a spokeswoman for 8th District U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert, who faced a tough challenge from Democrat Darcy Burner. "We know that people have tried to get to polling places and haven't been able to because of flooding. We're having the volunteers make a note of each time they hear that, but we don't know how many have been affected yet."

After days of heavy rain in Western Washington, King County closed two polling places - Mount Si Senior Center in North Bend and Snoqualmie Elementary School in Snoqualmie, both in the 8th District. The county advised voters to go to any other polling place to cast a provisional ballot.

Pierce County set up teams of people to go to voter residences where possible to get ballots or deliver provisional ballots.

State elections director Nick Handy said the flooding problems were confined to the western part of the state. In extreme circumstances where voters can't get to a polling place or ballot drop site, he said, they will be able to fax or e-mail ballots, then send in their regular ballot as soon as possible, writing "flood ballot" on the outside. Counties will need to separate any ballots received or postmarked after Election Day, and the canvassing boards will determine whether they can be counted.

Read the article

Election/Flooding information

To request a one time absentee ballot

Highway updates in WA State

[icymist]

33. King County Flood update: record flows recorded on Snoqualmie

Nov. 7, 2006, 12:45 p.m.

King County Flood update: record flows recorded on Snoqualmie
Water danger moving downriver
Flows remain high in all King County rivers, including a Phase IV flood alert on the lower Snoqualmie River, Phase III flood alert levels in place for the Tolt, Cedar and Green rivers, and Phase II on Issaquah Creek. Both the Tolt River and Issaquah Creek have receded from Phase IV flood alert levels, according to the King County Flood Warning Center.

At 11 a.m., the Snoqualmie River was flowing at 34,200 cubic feet per second (cfs) at the stream gage that monitors the sum flow of the river’s three forks. At 10 a.m., the National Weather Service stream gage near Carnation recorded a flow of 69,900 cfs – a flood stage of 61.11 feet – the highest flows ever recorded at that site.
At 11 a.m., the Cedar River at Landsburg was flowing at 3,940 cfs, which is a Phase III flood alert level. At this flow, moderate lowland flooding is expected near the river, particularly in the Lower Dorre Don area. Increased flows are expected on the Cedar River later today, with more widespread flooding possible.
The Green River at Auburn was flowing at 10,010 cfs at 10:30 this morning, which is a Phase III flood alert level. Minor flooding in the Green River valley above Auburn is expected at this flow level, including the likelihood of some road closures.
The Green River is also expected to rise later today, along with the likelihood of additional flooding in the Green River Valley.
Read the RPIN update

[icymist]

34. Kick

:kick:

[myrna minx]

35. A kick for our Washington State Friends.

Stay safe. :hug:

[icymist]

36. King County closes Woodinville-Duvall Road, severely limiting Snoqualmie Valley access

The King County Road Services Division is advising motorists that Woodinville-Duvall Road, a key route providing access to Duvall and points east, has now been closed due to dangerously high floodwater. The closure means virtually all key access routes in the valley have been closed due to major flooding in the Snoqualmie Valley. Only one section of Preston-Fall City Road to the Fall City limits remains open at this hour.
Read article and view chart of road closures.

Real-Time Flooding and Streamflow data online.

[uppityperson]

37. the SUN shone here for a while this afternoon!

and kick

[icymist]

38. Oh why not! Now the Cowlitz river has changed coarse!

<snip>
The river appeared to be receding Tuesday morning, and rescue crews pulled out, KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporter Richard Thompson said. The river then rose by about two feet and changed course, he said.

Authorities said everyone in the High Valley area north of the Cowlitz River should evacuated.

The Four Square Church in Packwood is accepting evacuees.

Link and :kick:

[icymist]

40. One last kick until the polls close.

:kick: