UPDATES with voting period for this fall’s election began with mailing of  military and overseas ballots…

Washington’s highly anticipated General Election is underway, with the mailing of balltos to military and overseas voters.

Counties sent out 57,314 ballots to military and overseas voters by the Sept. 22 deadline. Many of these voters are expected to use the option of e-mailing or faxing their completed ballot to their home county elections office.

“On behalf of all 39 counties and my Elections Division staff, I’m proud and honored that Washington’s military and overseas voters are the first to vote in our elections,” said Secretary of State Sam Reed, Washington’s chief elections officer.

“There are thousands of Washingtonians serving in the military and stationed in faraway lands. Many of our citizens are working or studying abroad or serving in the Peace Corps or other organizations. Regardless of their locale, we hope our military and overseas voters take this opportunity to vote and help shape our government, even while they are currently far away from us,” Reed added.

Washington has received acclaim from the Department of Defense for its quality voting service and outreach to military and overseas voters. Reed was honored this July by the Pentagon’s Federal Voting Assistance Program for his work in assisting military and overseas voters from The Evergreen State.

The eight counties that had the highest number of ballots sent to military and overseas voters for the primary were King (12,574), Pierce (10,405), Kitsap (5,972), Thurston (4,362), Spokane (3,722), Snohomish (3,535), Island (2,112) and Clark (1,737). (Go here to see a complete list of the number of ballots sent by counties to military and overseas voter.)

Ballots for other Washington voters will be sent out by Oct. 19. The statewide Voters’ Pamphlet will be sent to all Washington voters by then. Voters also are encouraged to view the online General Election Voters’ Guide. TVW has created a Video Voters’ Guide.

The 2012 General Election includes many important races on the ballot, including president, U.S. Senate, all 10 U.S. House contests, all 98 state House races and half of the state Senate.  All nine statewide elected offices are on the ballot, including governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, auditor, treasurer, public lands commissioner, insurance commissioner and superintendent of public instruction. Judicial races are also on the ballot, including three state Supreme Court positions.

Several statewide ballot measures will be placed before voters, including:
• Initiative 1185 (limiting taxes and fees)
• I-1240 (authorizing charter schools)
• I-502 (legalizing marijuana)
• Referendum 74 (legalizing same-sex marriage)
• Engrossed Senate Joint Resolution 8221 (Washington’s debt limit)
• Senate Joint Resolution 8223 (investments by the University of Washington and Washington State University)

For the first time, there also are two nonbinding state advisory votes. They deal with 1) a B&O tax deduction for certain financial institutions’ interest on residential loans; and 2) extension of a tax on petroleum products and lowering the rate.

Oct. 6 is the postmark deadline for voter registration applications and updates submitted by mail. Oct. 8 is the last day to register or update information online. Oct. 29 is the last day to register in person at your county elections office if you are not registered to vote in Washington.

Voting-eligible residents can register to vote, and learn about their candidates, ballot measures and ballot return locations by using MyVote.

The 2012 General Election concludes Nov. 6. That is the last day for voters to take ballots to county elections offices or ballot drop box locations, or to be postmarked.