Submitted by San Juan County Prosecutor Randall Gaylord

About 13,000 ballots were mailed to county voters almost two weeks ago. As of Friday morning, Nov. 3, only 25 percent (about 3,200) of the ballot envelopes had been received. That means many voters have their ballots. Getting those ballots in “on time” is important.

If you plan to vote by mail, I encourage you to mail by Monday.

To be considered, a mailed ballot must have the post office date stamp of election day or sooner. The next election day is Tuesday, Nov. 7.

While the post office will accept mail all day long, it will stamp the mail on the same day only when it is received by midafternoon. The exact time varies for each post office.

For that reason, it is most reliable if mail your ballot by Monday of election week, which is Monday, Nov. 6.

You can deposit your ballot on election day. The most reliable way to do that is to drop your ballot at one of the red, white and blue dropboxes at the senior center in Eastsound, at the courthouse in Friday Harbor; and at the fire station in Lopez Village.