North Olympic Peninsula registered voters will start receiving their ballots for the Aug. 3 primary election by the end of the week after ballots are mailed Wednesday.

Not all residents will receive a ballot in the upcoming primary. Ballots go to voters in the districts in which elections are being held.

The top-two primary narrows the field from three or more candidates to two who will face each other in the November general election.

The Clallam County Auditor’s Office will mail about 53,870 ballots on Wednesday,, July 14, Election Manager Susan Johnson said.

Ballots must be either postmarked by Aug. 3 or returned to a ballot box or Auditor’s Office by 8 p.m. Aug. 3.

Clallam County has nine races on the ballot, including one Olympic Medical Center commission race: Heather Jeffers, Karen Rogers and Steven C. Blackham are vying to fill the six-year position now held by Jim Leskinovitch, who is not seeking re-election.

Two school board races are on the primary ballot, one each in Port Angeles and Sequim. Four invididuals are competing for the Sequim School Board Position 4 seat, now held by Brandino Gibson, who is not seeking reelection: Derek Huntington, Virginia Sheppard, Rachel Tax and Kristi Schmeck.

Clallam County Fire District 3, which serves Sequim and a small portion of East Jefferson County, has Jeff Nicholas, Sean Ryan and Duane Charnlee competing for the Position 1 seat held by Michael Gawley.

Voters can register in person up to 8 p.m. on Aug. 3 to vote in the primary election at the county Auditor’s Office.

Voters also can register online and by mail until July 26. To register online, voters can go to voter.votewa.gov. Mailed registration must be received by the Auditor’s Office by July 26.

A voter registration and a voters guide tailored to the ballot is at voter.votewa.gov.

The Clallam County Auditor’s Office is located at 223 E. Fourth St., Suite 1, in Port Angeles. Voting accommodations are available. For information, call 360-417-2221.

If mailing the ballot on Aug. 3, it is recommended to have post office officials manually postmark the envelope to guarantee that it won’t be considered late and hence invalid once it arrives at the Auditor’s Office.

Ballot drop boxes are open 24 hours a day until 8 p.m. Aug. 3. Drop box locations in the Sequim area include: 651 W. Washington St. in the parking lot near JC Penney; and 261461 U.S. Highway 101 near Sunny Farms, adjacent to Mill Road, in Carlsborg.

Port Angeles, has a drop box at the Clallam County Courthouse (223 E. Fourth St.) in the courthouse circular drive, as well as a second one directly across from the disabled parking.

For more information, see clallam.net/Auditor/Elections.html.