League of Women Voters schedule primary election voter forums

The League of Women Voters of Clallam County will sponsor two free public candidate forums this month.

The forums are offered to help voters prepare to cast their ballots for the Aug. 7 primary election, the League said. Forums will be Monday, July 16, in Port Angeles and Wednesday, July 18, in Forks.

The Port Angeles forum, at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers at Port Angeles City Hall at 321 E. Fifth St., will consist of two panels.

The first panel will feature candidates for Judge-District Court 1: Dave Neupert, Pam Lindquist and Suzanne M.B. Hayden. The second panel will present candidates for Clallam County Commissioner District 3: Bill Peach, Howard (Mike) Doherty, Jr. and Dale Wilson.

A Forks forum, which is co-sponsored by the North Olympic Library System, is set for 7 p.m. at the Forks Library, 171 S. Forks Ave., Forks.

A panel will feature candidates for Clallam County Commissioner District 3.

Audience questions are the most important part of any League of Women Voters forum, members of the league have said. Members of the public are encouraged to attend and bring their questions for the candidates.

The Clallam County Commissioner District 3 and Judge-District Court 1 races will appear on the Aug. 7 primary ballot. Under Washington’s “top two” primary system, the top two vote-getters in each of the primary races will advance to the Nov. 6 general election ballot.

It is League of Women Voters’ practice to hold forums only for primary races where there are three or more candidates.

Ballots are not forwarded to new or temporary addresses, so voters who have moved since the last election need to submit registration changes online, by mail or in-person at the Clallam County Auditor’s office at the County Courthouse by July 9.

For residents not yet registered in Washington state, July 9 is the last day to submit voter registration online or by mail, and July 30 is the last day to register in-person at the Clallam County Auditor’s office.

Ballots will be mailed on July 18 and must be postmarked no later than Aug. 7.

In 2018, ballots will have prepaid postage, so voters will not need to apply a stamp.

For more information about the League of Women Voters go to https://my.lwv.org/washington/clallam-county or email info@lwvcla.org.

For more about the North Olympic Library System — which oversees public libraries in Forks, Clallam Bay, Port Angeles and Sequim — go to https://www.nols.org/ or email ehelp@nols.org. The Forks Library can be reached at 360- 374-6402.